Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased 9,194 shares of Bank of America Corporation valued at approximately $384,000, marking a significant investment in the financial services provider.
• Bank of America increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, representing an annualized dividend of $1.12 and a 2.2% yield.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Bank of America, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $50.17 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $48.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.19. 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 twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $50.92. The company has a market capitalization of $371.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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