Washington Trust Bank Has $2.35 Million Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Washington Trust Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 11.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,379 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,288,000 after buying an additional 24,740 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $217,000. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after acquiring an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, CCG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $287,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 2.1%

Bank of America stock opened at $52.44 on Thursday. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.22 and its 200-day moving average is $47.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.59.

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.