Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Purchases 6,510 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 33,963 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 696,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,061,000 after buying an additional 50,296 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $998,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 17,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 238,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,951,000 after buying an additional 150,299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.2%

BAC stock opened at $48.2350 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $357.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.84.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $53.00 price target for the company. Baird R W lowered shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. 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 research report on Tuesday, June 10th. HSBC lowered shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.