Cidel Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,472 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Cidel Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,472 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 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. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 121.0% in the 1st quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 33,963 shares during the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 7.3% during 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 in the last quarter. CCG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $287,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $8,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. UBS Group raised their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.29.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:BAC opened at $51.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $379.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. 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 $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.82. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88.

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 $28.09 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 30.52%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.