TCW Group Inc. Purchases 7,786 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 8.3%, acquiring an additional 7,786 shares, bringing its total to 101,380 shares valued at approximately $4.23 million.
• Bank of America recently initiated a $40 billion share repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.26, reflecting a positive outlook with a dividend yield of 2.31%.

TCW Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,786 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its holdings in Bank of America by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.03.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.2%

BAC opened at $48.47 on Monday. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average is $45.91 and its 200 day moving average is $43.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Bank of America 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.