Davidson Investment Advisors Boosts Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Davidson Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 405,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,886 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Bank of America were worth $19,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.8% in the second quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.3% in the second quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of BAC opened at $52.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $387.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.67.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Bank of America from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.64.

Bank of America 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.