iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 87.4%, owning 531,840 shares valued at $22,194,000 following the purchase of 248,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, reflecting a 2.4% annual yield, and initiated a $40 billion share repurchase plan.
• Securities analysts have mixed ratings on Bank of America, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 87.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 531,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 248,000 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $22,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in 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 valued at $5,381,126,000 after acquiring an additional 11,691,451 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Bank of America by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 33,152,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,457,031,000 after buying an additional 9,409,076 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,716,318,000 after purchasing an additional 9,258,040 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $45.83 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $339.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.76.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. 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%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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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