Carnegie Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 484,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $22,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% in 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. Acima Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $51.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.19.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid 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 2.2%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Ameriprise Financial raised shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned 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 target price of $57.23.

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.