Independent Advisor Alliance Decreases Stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 8.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 226,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,889 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BAC shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 target price on the stock. Argus decreased their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $46.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $340.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.74. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

About Bank of America

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.