Ethic Inc. Has $14.71 Million Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 138.1% in Q1, acquiring a total of 354,505 shares valued at approximately $14.71 million.
• Bank of America recently announced a $40 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock, indicating confidence in its value.
• The company's quarterly dividend was increased to $0.28 per share, yielding 2.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 138.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 354,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 205,624 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $14,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed 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 target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. HSBC downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $47.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $353.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.79. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

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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