Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 121.0% in Q1, holding a total of 62,041 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, reflecting a 2.5% yield and a payout ratio of 30.41%.
• The company has also authorized a stock buyback plan allowing for up to $40 billion in repurchases, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 121.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 33,963 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $44.87. The company had a trading volume of 30,604,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,320,360. The company has a market capitalization of $332.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. 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 $49.31. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.78.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be 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 is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.