Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,274,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,151,432 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Bank of America worth $628,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 246.5% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% during the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Acima Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $53.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.51. The firm has a market cap of $388.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $53.99.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

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

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.