Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Purchased by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 9.9% in the first quarter, now owning 153,088 shares valued at approximately $6.39 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” for Bank of America with a price target averaging around $50.13.
• Bank of America has initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase program, signaling belief that its stock is undervalued, while also increasing its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 per share.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,752 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,521,218,000 after purchasing an additional 803,570 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. 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 4th 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 purchasing an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,716,318,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258,040 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $49.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $366.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.16 and a 200-day moving average of $43.82. 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 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.66.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during 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%.The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. 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 currently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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