Bank of America Corporation $BAC Holdings Decreased by Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors 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. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth about $40,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 233.6% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 41.2% during the first quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in Bank of America by 67.8% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $50.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $52.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.13.

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

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, 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 this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Phillip Securities lowered Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.78.

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.