Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 209,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,249 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% during the second quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Acima Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth about $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $52.44 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.45. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $52.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.52%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BAC. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.23.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.