RPG Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

RPG Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 105.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 444,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 227,808 shares during the quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $18,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:BAC opened at $48.2350 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $46.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.84. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $49.31. The company has a market capitalization of $357.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.13.

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.