IFM Investors Pty Ltd Purchases 113,214 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Bank of America by 8.8% during the second quarter, owning a total of 1,402,856 shares valued at approximately $66.4 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, from the previous $0.26, representing a 2.1% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 32.75%.
• The company has authorized a $40 billion share repurchase plan, allowing it to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock, indicating the board's belief that shares are undervalued.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,402,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 113,214 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.6% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Bank of America were worth $66,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.82.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.4%

BAC stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $52.03. The company had a trading volume of 27,332,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,902,632. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $385.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.63.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Company 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.