AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Makes New Investment in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 389,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,468,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,734,000 after acquiring an additional 20,916 shares in the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $771,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.7% in the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 14,901 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 196,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,628,000 after buying an additional 20,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,670,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $45.15 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $27.34 and a 1-year high of $45.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,843,142,343.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock worth $4,548,518,070. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.