Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 42.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,007,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 298,003 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for 0.8% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $39,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Accent Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after buying an additional 11,873 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments raised its position in Bank of America by 237.6% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 36,089 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 33,983 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 37.7% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 14,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,670,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $465,811,996.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 835,908,435 shares in the company, valued at $34,088,345,979.30. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BAC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BAC opened at $46.06 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.55. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $29.32 and a 12-month high of $47.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $353.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America Company 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.