Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Bought by Spartan Planning & Wealth Management

Key Points

• Spartan Planning & Wealth Management increased its stake in Bank of America by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter, owning 14,691 shares now valued at $695,000.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, representing a yield of 2.1%.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 70.71% of Bank of America's stock, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Spartan Planning & Wealth Management lifted its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,691 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,144 shares during the quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management's holdings in Bank of America were worth $695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% in 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. Unisphere Establishment grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954,250 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $152,098,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 958.9% in the 1st quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 3,344,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $139,560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,028,530 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $52.36 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $49.16 and its 200-day moving average is $45.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 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 $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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