Canopy Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Canopy Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the quarter. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vega Investment Solutions bought a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Bank of America from $49.50 to $43.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Cowen started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.03.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.5%

Bank of America stock opened at $48.23 on Tuesday. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $49.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.98 and a 200 day moving average of $43.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $363.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.41%.

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.