Morningstar Investment Management LLC Acquires 2,504 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,504 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $249,000. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 119.7% during the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,676,000 after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 67.8% during the second quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 12,020 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% during the second quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 80,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.2% during the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 210,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,475 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:BAC opened at $48.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $361.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.59. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.06 and a 12 month high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.75%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Baird R W downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were 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 directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.