Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 283,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 0.7% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $13,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 67.8% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 41.2% in the first quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

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.