First Command Advisory Services Inc. Sells 2,897 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

First Command Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,897 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 60,417,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,521,218,000 after acquiring an additional 803,570 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Bank of America by 45.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,112,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Bank of America by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 39,233,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,637,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,413,313 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bank of America by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,956,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,333,351,000 after acquiring an additional 188,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 16,562,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,759,000 after acquiring an additional 894,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on BAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America 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 sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. This trade represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $52.44 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The company has a market capitalization of $388.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.58 and its 200-day moving average is $46.45.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.52%.

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

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.