MBB Public Markets I LLC Buys Shares of 7,166 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC has invested approximately $299,000 in Bank of America by acquiring 7,166 shares in the first quarter.
• A significant percentage of Bank of America shares, 70.71%, are now held by institutional investors following multiple increases in holdings by various funds.
• Bank of America has initiated a $40 billion share buyback program, signaling the board's belief that the company's shares are undervalued.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,007,718,000 after buying an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $263,449,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,981,816,000 after buying an additional 5,092,504 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $217,979,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 4,414.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $194,212,000 after buying an additional 4,550,930 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.60. 27,849,333 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,238,896. 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 market cap of $374.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. The company's fifty day moving average is $48.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.28. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $50.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 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 analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

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

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.