Exane Asset Management Purchases Shares of 539,720 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Exane Asset Management acquired 539,720 shares of Bank of America, valued at approximately $25.54 million, representing 10.7% of its investment portfolio and making it the firm's 3rd largest holding.
• A significant stock buyback program of $40 billion has been authorized by Bank of America's Board of Directors, indicating confidence that the stock is undervalued.
• Bank of America recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share from $0.26, yielding approximately 2.1% for shareholders.

Exane Asset Management acquired a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 539,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,540,000. Bank of America comprises 10.7% of Exane Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rainier Family Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 6,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business'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 directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $52.21 on Monday. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $49.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.97. The company has a market cap of $386.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $52.88.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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