AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Boosts Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 30.6%, holding a total of 507,061 shares valued at approximately $23.97 million.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Bank of America, with target prices ranging from $54.64 to $58.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share and has initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase program, signaling confidence in its financial position.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 507,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 118,909 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc's holdings in Bank of America were worth $23,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% in the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.64.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88. The firm has a market cap of $370.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The business's fifty day moving average is $49.76 and its 200 day moving average is $45.62.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.

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