Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Acquired by Capital Analysts LLC

Key Points

• Capital Analysts LLC increased its ownership in Bank of America by 5.9%, currently holding 115,543 shares valued at approximately $4.82 million.
• Bank of America has recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, reflecting a 2.3% yield, along with a board-approved $40 billion stock buyback plan.
• Wall Street analysts have varying opinions, with the consensus rating for Bank of America being a "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging around $50.13.

Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,463 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 173,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,259,000 after buying an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 18,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 674.3% in the 1st quarter. HMS Capital Management LLC now owns 47,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,973,000 after buying an additional 41,168 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $599,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 243,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,154,000 after buying an additional 14,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3%

BAC stock opened at $48.0650 on Wednesday. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $356.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.31. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.81 and its 200 day moving average is $43.79.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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