Centerpoint Advisors LLC Sells 5,971 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Centerpoint Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America by 72.4%, selling 5,971 shares and ending the quarter with 2,276 shares valued at $95,000.
• Bank of America announced a $40 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock, indicating leadership's belief in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, marking a dividend yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio of 32.75%.

Centerpoint Advisors LLC cut its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 72.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,971 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $47.50 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.76. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $351.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BAC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Bank of America 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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