Plato Investment Management Ltd Boosts Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,152 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Bank of America by 959.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,948,000 after purchasing an additional 8,447,091 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,627,000 after buying an additional 5,749,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 290.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,114,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $269,763,000 after buying an additional 5,293,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.0 %

Bank of America stock opened at $45.88 on Thursday. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $28.47 and a 12-month high of $46.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $352.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.11 and a 200 day moving average of $40.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 107,883,988 shares of company stock worth $4,344,741,752 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% 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.