Lavaca Capital LLC Purchases 828 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Lavaca Capital LLC lifted its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tanglewood Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 68.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 36,534,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,344,728. The company has a market capitalization of $225.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $26.32 and a 12 month high of $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.98 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 19.97% and a return on equity of 12.01%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total transaction of $2,449,332.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 353,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,143,007.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total value of $2,449,332.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 353,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,143,007.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,364,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 185,108 shares in the company, valued at $5,836,455.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. HSBC started coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.31.

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. Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional and money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, noninterest-and interest-bearing checking accounts, and investment accounts and products; and credit and debit cards, residential mortgages, and home equity loans, as well as direct and indirect loans, such as automotive, recreational vehicle, and consumer personal loans.