Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,182 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Highland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 0.7% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $13,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 233.6% in the first 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. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 67.8% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 1,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $50.63 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $52.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $374.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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 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 firm had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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 issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BAC. Baird R W lowered Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.38.

Bank of America 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.