Fred Alger Management LLC Has $7.44 Million Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Fred Alger Management LLC raised its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,570 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,722,127 shares of company stock worth $5,539,949,341. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.5 %

BAC stock opened at $39.27 on Thursday. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44. The company has a market cap of $304.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.97.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

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.