Perpetual Ltd Boosts Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Bank of America by 49.7%, now owning 821,965 shares valued at approximately $38.9 million.
• The company announced a $40 billion stock repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 11.1% of its shares, indicating leadership believes the stock is undervalued.
• Bank of America also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, reflecting confidence in its financial health following a reported earnings per share of $0.89.

Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 49.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 821,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 272,950 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in Bank of America were worth $38,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,979,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 4,414.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,654,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $194,212,000 after acquiring an additional 4,550,930 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1,642.5% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $175,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,954,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $164,623,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $52.17 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company's 50-day moving average is $48.44 and its 200 day moving average is $44.45. 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 (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, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership 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. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.61.

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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