National Pension Service Acquires 542,102 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,512,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 542,102 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for about 0.6% of National Pension Service’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Bank of America worth $639,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,007,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,960,086 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment boosted its position in Bank of America by 1,642.5% during the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 4,195,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $175,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,954,250 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter worth approximately $164,623,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $152,098,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 62.9% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 8,904,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,564,000 after purchasing an additional 3,438,876 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $53.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.83.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $28.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Ameriprise Financial raised shares of Bank of America to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Seaport Global Securities upped their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.86.

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.