AdvisorNet Financial Inc Sells 25,988 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

AdvisorNet Financial Inc cut its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 56.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,988 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 233.6% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BAC. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. HSBC cut shares of Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Baird R W cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $51.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $382.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.68. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $52.88.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.