Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 9,980,859 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 803,570 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 12.7% during the 4th 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 valued at $1,981,816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,092,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Bank of America by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 39,051,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,716,318,000 after acquiring an additional 9,258,040 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
BAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.13.
Bank of America Stock Performance
Shares of BAC stock opened at $48.2350 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $357.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.84. 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.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.
Bank of America Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. 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 announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America
In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Bank of America Company 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.
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