Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV Decreases Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,035 shares during the period. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 9,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 277,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,123,000 after acquiring an additional 5,921 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 18,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 112,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,300,000 after acquiring an additional 11,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Architects LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Architects LLC now owns 29,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC opened at $48.86 on Tuesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.59. The company has a market capitalization of $361.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BAC. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, June 27th. Oppenheimer decreased 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. HSBC increased their price target on Bank of America from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.64.

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.