Voleon Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP significantly increased its holdings in Bank of America by 110.7%, acquiring a total of 316,385 shares, which valued approximately $13.2 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Bank of America recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share and a $40 billion stock buyback plan, indicating the board's belief in the undervaluation of the company's shares.
• Analysts have shown a generally positive outlook on Bank of America, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39 based on recent evaluations.

Voleon Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 110.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 166,193 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.0% of Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $13,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the first quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% during the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.39.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.7%

Bank of America stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.28. 36,660,781 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,548,980. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $372.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $50.92. The business's 50-day moving average price is $47.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.10.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.2%. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.