California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Bank of America stake by 5,515.7% in the second quarter, acquiring 575.7 million additional shares and bringing its ownership to approximately 8.38%, valued at $33.4 billion.
• Bank of America reported quarterly EPS of $1.21, exceeding estimates of $1.13, while revenue rose 19.6% year over year to $31.56 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.28 to $0.32 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $64.08; individual targets range as high as $75.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 5,515.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 586,149,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 575,711,933 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 8.38% of Bank of America worth $33,398,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,774,210,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,571,060,000. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,357,461,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,359,172,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,313,953,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $62.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $61.74 and its 200 day moving average is $55.29. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.12 and a 1-year high of $65.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 29.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on BAC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Bank of America from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six 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 an average price target of $64.08.

Bank of America Profile

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.

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