EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC invested approximately $599,000 in Bank of America by acquiring 14,352 shares during the first quarter.
• Bank of America reported a Q2 EPS of $0.89, exceeding analysts' expectations, and also had a share buyback program authorized for up to $40 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, signaling confidence in its financial health.

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 85,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 8,627 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 15,716.2% in the 4th quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 139,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 138,931 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC opened at $48.0650 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $46.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $356.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

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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