Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. Takes $242,000 Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. has acquired a new stake in Bank of America, purchasing 5,121 shares valued at approximately $242,000.
• Bank of America announced a stock repurchase plan to buy back $40 billion in outstanding shares, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.28, reflecting a positive change in its financial outlook.

Swisher Financial Concepts Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,785,000 after acquiring an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $377,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.5% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 704,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,379,000 after acquiring an additional 10,205 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.92.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $51.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $384.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.34. The company's fifty day moving average is $48.97 and its 200 day moving average is $44.81.

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

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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