Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Purchased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Bank of America by 54.2%, holding 38,655 shares valued at approximately $1,829,000.
• Bank of America announced a $40 billion stock buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares, indicating confidence in the company's valuation.
• The firm recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 32.75%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 54.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,585 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 115.6% in the first quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 14,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 7,550 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.2% in the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 83,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 15.5% in the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 11,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares during the period. Finally, Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.6% in the first quarter. Ullmann Wealth Partners Group LLC now owns 52,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,211,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. 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 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC boosted their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $49.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.26. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $374.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

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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