Stablepoint Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,609,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,883,000 after buying an additional 26,276 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $80,000. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.8% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 97,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,872,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $549,000. Finally, Woodstock Corp lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 158,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Bank of America from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

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 stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 160,921,082 shares of company stock valued at $6,582,343,525. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $41.91 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $327.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $39.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.30. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.