Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $242,000 in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. invested $242,000 in Bank of America by purchasing 5,115 shares, marking a significant entry into the financial services sector.
• Institutional investors now hold 70.71% of Bank of America's stock, with notable increases in positions from firms such as Deutsche Bank and Unisphere Establishment.
• Bank of America recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28 and announced a $40 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. Unisphere Establishment grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% during the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954,250 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $152,098,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 958.9% during the 1st quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 3,344,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $139,560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,028,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $52.88.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.44 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.19. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $373.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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