Simon Quick Advisors LLC Buys 2,650 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 1.2% of Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $17,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 402.2% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 839.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $40.85 on Wednesday. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.35.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,609,567 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,483,669 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BAC. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.22.

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.