United Capital Management of KS Inc. Buys 111,111 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• United Capital Management of KS Inc. significantly increased its stake in Bank of America by 305% during the first quarter, acquiring 111,111 shares and bringing their total holdings to 147,537 shares valued at $6,157,000.
• Bank of America announced a new $40 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 11.1% of its shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, up from $0.26, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%.

United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 305.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,537 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 111,111 shares during the period. United Capital Management of KS Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock traded up $0.98 on Monday, hitting $47.92. 42,700,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,186,910. The firm has a market cap of $354.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.41%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.13.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.