Wernau Asset Management Inc. Has $4.07 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Wernau Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 12.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 85,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,204 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 2.8% of Wernau Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Wernau Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% in the first quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. PFG Advisors grew its position in Bank of America by 3.8% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 24,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,019,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $52.70 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.29. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $54.69. The company has a market capitalization of $384.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. 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 (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend 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%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Citigroup increased their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Twenty-three investment 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, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.77.

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.