Empower Advisory Group LLC Has $81.96 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America by 9.6%, owning about $81.96 million worth of shares after selling 209,018 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank of America announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, with a dividend yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 30.41%.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a $40 billion share buyback plan, allowing Bank of America to repurchase up to 11.1% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,964,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 209,018 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $81,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plan Group Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 52.4% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 3,344,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,566,000 after buying an additional 1,150,471 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% in the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 45,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.1% in the first quarter. Probity Advisors Inc. now owns 49,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 42.9% in the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 5,877 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $45.83 on Tuesday. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $339.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The company's fifty day moving average is $46.32 and its 200 day moving average is $43.76.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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