Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $53.61 Million Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,284,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98,028 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $53,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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 dated 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. 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. Baird R W cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the company 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.5%

BAC stock opened at $49.4850 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 stock has a market capitalization of $366.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.06 and a 200-day moving average of $43.86. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $49.66.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 30.41%.

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.