Econ Financial Services Corp Takes Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 9,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BAC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.27.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $52.85 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $53.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.77 and its 200 day moving average is $46.68. The firm has a market cap of $391.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The company had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.52%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.