Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $5.45 Million Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth about $40,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $373.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.19. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88.

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

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on BAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.88.

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.