Bank of America Corporation $BAC Stock Holdings Lifted by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 1.3%, owning a total of 3,787,113 shares, which are valued at approximately $157.7 million.
• Bank of America has initiated a $40 billion stock buyback program, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.1% of its outstanding shares, a sign that the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company has also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.12 and a yield of 2.3%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,787,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,158 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.4% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Bank of America worth $157,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares in the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 5,092,504 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $217,979,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4,414.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $194,212,000 after buying an additional 4,550,930 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,674,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,777,764. The firm has a market capitalization of $371.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $48.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.15. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup increased 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.39.

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.