WealthShield Partners LLC Buys 8,734 Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 120.9%, owning 15,959 shares valued at approximately $666,000 as of its latest SEC filing.
• Bank of America declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, with an upcoming payout date of September 26th, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Bank of America is undergoing a stock buyback plan of $40 billion, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

WealthShield Partners LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 120.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,734 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Bank of America by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after acquiring an additional 11,691,451 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,521,218,000 after purchasing an additional 803,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 45,092,517 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,981,816,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092,504 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE BAC traded up $1.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.03. 37,117,565 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,665,750. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.78. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $49.31. The firm has a market cap of $340.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 30.41%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAC. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Finally, Cfra Research lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America to $47.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.13.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently 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.