Kennedy Investment Group Reduces Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Kennedy Investment Group trimmed its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 682 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 1.1% of Kennedy Investment Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 75.2% in the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 233.6% in the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Baird R W cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on Bank of America and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.92.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BAC opened at $51.67 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.87 and its 200 day moving average is $44.73. The company has a market capitalization of $382.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The business had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Company 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.