Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Bank of America by 6.3%, now holding approximately 5.9 million shares valued at $279.7 million, making it the group's 29th largest position.
• Bank of America recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a continued commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Bank of America, with 21 analysts rating it as a Buy and a target price averaging $54.64.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,893,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 350,450 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 0.5% of Aberdeen Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.08% of Bank of America worth $279,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,288,000 after purchasing an additional 24,740 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $998,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 17,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BAC. Seaport Global Securities boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.64.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 2.4%

Bank of America stock opened at $48.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $360.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.33. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $49.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.50.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board 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 usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America 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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