River Global Investors LLP Increases Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

River Global Investors LLP grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,703 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 0.9% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Bank of America by 237.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Bank of America by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 20,916 shares during the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $771,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 14,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,670,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.13. 38,331,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 36,782,108. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $27.34 and a 12-month high of $45.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $346.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BAC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,843,142,343.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.