Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business's 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 owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $47.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.00. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $50.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.39.

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.

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