Highland Capital Management LLC Buys 29,536 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 312,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,536 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 0.8% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $16,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 10.5% during the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,288,000 after acquiring an additional 24,740 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $217,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 169,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BAC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on 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-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.59.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:BAC opened at $56.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $411.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $56.50.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.52%.

Bank of America Profile

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.