Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 3,278 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Freedom Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 13.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,278 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% during the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Ameriprise Financial upgraded shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Global Securities increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Twenty-three 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.23.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $52.44 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $52.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.31.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The firm had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.52%.

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.