Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Acquires 513,012 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 20.6%, acquiring an additional 513,012 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately $144.85 million.
• Bank of America announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share with a dividend yield of 2.3%, boosting from the previous $0.26 dividend, signaling strong financial management.
• Market analysts are generally optimistic about Bank of America, with 21 analysts rating it as a “Buy” and projecting an average target price of $54.64 per share.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,008,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 513,012 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $144,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 233.6% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $48.62 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $49.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.54. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $52.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $360.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Bank of America

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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