WoodTrust Financial Corp Purchases 112,275 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 723.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 127,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,275 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 233.6% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BAC shares. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $50.22 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The company has a market capitalization of $371.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.46 and its 200-day moving average is $45.39.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.75%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management 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.