Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,174 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Vega Investment Solutions acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.60 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $48.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $50.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $374.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, HSBC lowered Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

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

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.