Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Raises Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,466 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after acquiring an additional 226,246 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $243,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $672,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.3%

BAC stock traded down $0.14 on Friday, reaching $48.25. 9,891,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,259,102. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one 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 company has a market cap of $363.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.74.

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, 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.03.

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.