Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 5,774 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 109.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,774 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter worth $33,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $39.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $310.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $40.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 84,497,793 shares of company stock valued at $3,513,542,556 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Company 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.