Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) Shares Purchased by Liberty Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC has increased its stake in Bank of America by 23.0%, totaling 33,209 shares valued at approximately $1.39 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Bank of America is implementing a $40 billion stock repurchase program, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a positive change in financial performance.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 33,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,210 shares during the quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.7% in the first quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 28,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 66.8% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,444,695 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,287,000 after purchasing an additional 578,347 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.5% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 3,299,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,674,000 after buying an additional 14,874 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 225.4% during the 1st quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 9,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 6,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in Bank of America by 1,317.7% during the 1st quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 182,116 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 169,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.87. The stock had a trading volume of 29,892,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,687,551. The firm has a market cap of $332.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.38 and its 200 day moving average is $43.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.