Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Makes New Investment in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 243,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,670,000. Bank of America accounts for 1.2% of Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,437,936,000 after buying an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,288,347,000 after acquiring an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Bank of America by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,530,241,000 after acquiring an additional 165,070 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 23.6% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 16,260,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109,197 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $611,692,000 after purchasing an additional 569,385 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.33. 3,375,564 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,557,043. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.96. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.34 and a fifty-two week high of $45.55. The firm has a market cap of $347.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued 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 return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 928,460,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock worth $4,548,518,070 over the last three months. Corporate 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.