Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 25,163 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation by 5.8%, acquiring an additional 25,163 shares to reach a total of 458,944 shares valued at approximately $19.15 million.
• Bank of America recently announced a $40 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation amidst its ongoing trading activities and market performance.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, demonstrating a positive increase in shareholder returns, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.31%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 458,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,163 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $19,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Hayek Kallen Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 12,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Bank of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Bank of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 89,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,920,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,555,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,941,199. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.74. The company has a market capitalization of $362.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.03.

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.