Cidel Asset Management Inc. Has $3.62 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Bank of America by 6.7%, owning 76,470 shares worth approximately $3.62 million at the end of the 2nd quarter.
• Bank of America recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28, marking a total annualized dividend of $1.12 with a yield of 2.2%.
• A number of analysts have upgraded their price targets for Bank of America, with the average consensus price target now at $57.29, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,472 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 151,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 18,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 12,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 2.8% during the second quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 10,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 6.0% during the second quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BAC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seaport Global Securities raised their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Twenty-one 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.29.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $51.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.82. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.52%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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