Vestcor Inc Has $12.33 Million Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Bank of America by 5.1%, purchasing an additional 14,368 shares, bringing its total to 295,499 shares valued at $12.33 million.
• Bank of America recently announced a $40 billion stock repurchase plan and raised its dividend to $0.28 per share, reflecting confidence in its share value.
• Analysts have mixed views on Bank of America, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and target prices ranging from $42.00 to $58.00.

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 295,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,368 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Bank of America were worth $12,331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,061,000 after purchasing an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 158,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,640,000 after purchasing an additional 17,880 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter worth approximately $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 37.2% during the first quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 170.5% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,951,000 after buying an additional 150,299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock traded down $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.65. 52,302,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,048,586. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.22 and a 200 day moving average of $43.81. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $343.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm 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 company posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 30.41%.

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.