Janney Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Janney Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 243,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,672 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $11,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 14.5% during the second quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 19,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Nicholson Meyer Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $216,000. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.6% in the second quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 13,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.6% in the second quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Finally, Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $225,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $52.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.05. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 14.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Bank of America from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Baird R W downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.82.

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.