Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes $263,000 Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners Inc. has acquired a new stake in Bank of America, purchasing 5,549 shares valued at approximately $263,000 in the second quarter.
• Bank of America initiated a $40 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, representing a yield of 2.2%.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Bank of America by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,797,000 after acquiring an additional 226,246 shares during the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $896,000. Stonebrook Private Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 18,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 37,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.60 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $50.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $48.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Bank of America's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

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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