398,933 Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC Acquired by Parkwood LLC

Key Points

• Parkwood LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America, acquiring 398,933 shares valued at approximately $16.6 million, making it the firm's 28th largest holding.
• Bank of America has declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.
• The company's board approved a stock repurchase plan allowing up to $40 billion in share buybacks, indicating confidence in the firm’s stock value.

Parkwood LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 398,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,648,000. Bank of America makes up 1.5% of Parkwood LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,061,000 after acquiring an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 17,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 150,299 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.39.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.8%

BAC traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.69. 40,059,616 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,925,288. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $50.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America Company 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.