IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $66.38 Million Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 8.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,402,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 113,214 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 0.6% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $66,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Centurion Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.9% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price target on Bank of America and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value 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 represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $52.17 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.45. The company has a market capitalization of $386.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $52.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 32.75%.

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

Bank of America 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.