Secure Asset Management LLC Sells 17,556 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Secure Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,556 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 860,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,797,000 after purchasing an additional 226,246 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,619,000. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 278,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,247,000 after purchasing an additional 61,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $51.36 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $51.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report 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 stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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