Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America Corporation by 124.8%, now owning 10,409 shares valued at approximately $434,000.
• Bank of America declared a $40 billion stock repurchase program, which signals confidence from company leadership regarding the stock's valuation.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, resulting in a new annualized dividend of $1.12 with a yield of 2.3%.

Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 124.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,778 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.3% of Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the first quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% in the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.7%

BAC traded up $0.82 on Tuesday, hitting $50.28. The company had a trading volume of 36,660,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,548,980. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.15. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $50.92.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Hsbc Global Res cut Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC lowered shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. 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. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.