Plancorp LLC Boosts Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Plancorp LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 5.8% during the first quarter, holding a total of 103,576 shares valued at approximately $4.32 million.
• Bank of America reported earnings of $0.89 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, up from $0.26.
• The company announced a $40 billion stock buyback program, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued, and hedge funds collectively own about 70.71% of the company's stock.

Plancorp LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 103,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,696 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in Bank of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 18,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $49.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.95 and a 200-day moving average of $44.09. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $50.92. 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 company has a market cap of $368.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. HSBC lowered Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.39.

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.

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