Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Shares Bought by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 11.0% during the first quarter, now owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $44 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, with a yield of 2.31%, scheduled to be paid on September 26th.
• Multiple analysts have recently given Bank of America a "Moderate Buy" rating, with an average target price of $50.03, indicating overall confidence in the company's performance.

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,056,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 104,768 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $44,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. 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. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after acquiring an additional 226,246 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 2,477,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,880,000 after acquiring an additional 104,353 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.03.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $48.47 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. 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 50-day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

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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