Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Acquires 14,612 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 12.0%, owning 136,846 shares worth approximately $5.71 million following additional acquisitions.
• Bank of America announced a stock buyback program authorizing repurchases of up to $40 billion, reflecting management's belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, representing a 2.2% dividend yield, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,612 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,521,218,000 after buying an additional 803,570 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 12.7% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 5,092,504 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Bank of America by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,716,318,000 after acquiring an additional 9,258,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Bank of America by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,956,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,333,351,000 after buying an additional 188,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC cut Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.39.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.05. The company had a trading volume of 34,135,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,251,908. The stock has a market cap of $370.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $50.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $47.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.00.

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

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 paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost 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 declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase 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 shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.