AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 26.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,979,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,473,322 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Bank of America worth $276,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McAdam LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% in 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 period. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 1.2% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Bank of America by 15.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 3.3% during the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:BAC opened at $39.27 on Thursday. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44. 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 company has a market cap of $304.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.97.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,941,403 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $197,359,635.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 820,719,071 shares in the company, valued at $32,779,519,695.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,722,127 shares of company stock valued at $5,539,949,341 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.