Wesleyan Assurance Society Raises Position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Wesleyan Assurance Society lifted its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 26.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 502,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 104,075 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 1.6% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Bank of America were worth $20,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 7.8% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,061,000 after buying an additional 50,296 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 6,251,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,767,000 after purchasing an additional 753,880 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 12.7% during the fourth 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 period. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth approximately $998,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,714,000 after purchasing an additional 17,619 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.25 on Thursday, reaching $48.39. 31,424,932 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,401,344. The company has a market cap of $364.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.30. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $45.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.72. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $49.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Bank of America from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Bank of America from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.03.

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.