Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Boosts Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Bragg Financial Advisors Inc has increased its stake in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) by 13.7%, acquiring an additional 6,510 shares, bringing its total ownership to 53,998 shares valued at approximately $2.25 million.
• Bank of America recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, a rise from the previous $0.26, and announced a stock repurchase plan allowing up to $40 billion in share buybacks.
• The stock of Bank of America is currently trading at $48.2350, with a market capitalization of $357.27 billion and a 52-week range between $33.06 and $49.31.

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 110,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 89,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,920,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $49.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,815,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,994,547. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.81. The firm has a market cap of $366.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.66. 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 (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BAC. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

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.