WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,000. Bank of America accounts for approximately 0.9% of WealthTrust Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 246.5% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during 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 in the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $52.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $383.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $33.06 and a 1 year high of $54.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.99. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAC. Phillip Securities increased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seaport Global Securities upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.86.

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.