Virtu Financial LLC Has $2.79 Million Position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC significantly increased its stake in Bank of America by 1,113.1%, owning 66,963 shares valued at approximately $2.79 million.
• Bank of America announced a share repurchase plan, authorizing up to $40 billion to buy back shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.
• The bank reported earnings per share of $0.89 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and is set to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share.

Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1,113.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 61,443 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Hayek Kallen Investment Management raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Hayek Kallen Investment Management now owns 12,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in Bank of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position in Bank of America by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 18,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $46.03 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $46.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.76. The company has a market cap of $340.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 32.75%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America 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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.13.

About Bank of America

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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