Wesbanco Bank Inc. Acquires 63,783 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 23.3%, acquiring an additional 63,783 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 337,157 shares valued at approximately $15.95 million.
• Bank of America announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.28 per share, representing a 2.2% yield, with shareholders set to receive this payout on September 26th.
• The company has launched a $40 billion share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.1% of its outstanding shares, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,783 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $15,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $50.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $374.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.34. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $48.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.28. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $50.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business 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 for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup increased 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 note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.

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