Hobart Private Capital LLC Buys 2,202 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Hobart Private Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,202 shares during the quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. 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 purchasing an additional 14,960,086 shares during the period. Unisphere Establishment raised its stake in Bank of America by 1,642.5% during the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954,250 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $152,098,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Bank of America by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 8,904,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,564,000 after acquiring an additional 3,438,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC opened at $52.44 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.58 and a 200 day moving average of $46.31. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $388.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued 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 yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in 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 generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Ameriprise Financial raised Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.23.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.