NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 11,403 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 11.3% during the second quarter, purchasing an additional 11,403 shares to hold a total of 112,003 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Bank of America recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, reflecting a 2.3% yield, and initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase plan.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Bank of America, with Deutsche Bank raising its target to $58 and Seaport Global Securities lifting it to $66, indicating a strong belief in the stock's future performance.

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,403 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 10.5% in the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,288,000 after buying an additional 24,740 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in Bank of America by 121.0% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after buying an additional 33,963 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 7.3% in the second quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter worth $998,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 37.2% in the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC stock opened at $48.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $49.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.54. The company has a market capitalization of $360.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $52.88.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seaport Global Securities lifted their target price on Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.64.

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.

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