CRA Financial Services LLC Increases Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

by · The Cerbat Gem

CRA Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. McAdam LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Bank of America by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.95. The company had a trading volume of 50,660,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,864,645. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $325.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 36.62%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 160,921,082 shares of company stock worth $6,582,343,525 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.27.

View Our Latest Research Report on Bank of America

About Bank of America

(Free Report)

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.

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