Guardian Investment Management Increases Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Guardian Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 3.4% of Guardian Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.4% during the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.3% during the second quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rainier Family Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.9% during the second quarter. Rainier Family Wealth Inc. now owns 6,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. HSBC downgraded Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.92.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $52.21 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $49.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.93. The firm has a market cap of $386.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.