Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 19,869 Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Bank of America Corporation, purchasing 19,869 shares valued at approximately $829,000.
• Bank of America's Board of Directors has approved a $40 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $829,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Bank of America by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after buying an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Bank of America by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after buying an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Bank of America by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after buying an additional 803,570 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cfra Research upped their price target on Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.03. 37,117,565 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,639,604. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50-day moving average price is $46.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.78.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.