Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Bank of America by 12.4%, owning a total of 51,301 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million after acquiring 5,651 additional shares in Q2.
• Bank of America recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28, representing a positive increase from the previous $0.26, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 32.75%.
• Brokerages have a generally positive outlook on the stock, with target prices ranging from $49.00 to $56.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,651 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,061,000 after purchasing an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 17,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,951,000 after purchasing an additional 150,299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business'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 value of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE BAC opened at $52.21 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $386.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's 50-day moving average is $49.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.97. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.88.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for 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 business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

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

About Bank of America

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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