Simplicity Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Bank of America shares by 47.2%, now holding 93,568 shares valued at $4.43 million.
• Bank of America has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.28, representing an annualized yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 32.75%.
• The company also initiated a $40 billion stock buyback program, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 47.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,992 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 233.6% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Bank of America by 67.8% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $50.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.37 and a 200-day moving average of $45.28. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33.

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 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 analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $53.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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