Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 8.7%, acquiring an additional 56,788 shares to reach a total of 706,563 shares valued at approximately $29.5 million.
• Bank of America recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a positive change and a dividend yield of 2.4%.
• The company has announced a stock repurchase plan allowing for the reacquisition of up to $40 billion in stock, indicating strong confidence in its valuation by the management.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 706,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 56,788 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $29,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after purchasing an additional 803,570 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,981,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,092,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC stock traded up $0.1450 on Tuesday, hitting $48.0650. The company's stock had a trading volume of 33,716,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,971,898. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $356.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are 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.