First Affirmative Financial Network Invests $233,000 in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Foster Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $203,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 28,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of America by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 812,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,308,000 after purchasing an additional 61,726 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 320,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,188,000 after purchasing an additional 10,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 26,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares during the period. 68.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BAC shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. HSBC started coverage on Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank of America from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.98.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 353,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,143,007.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the business’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 approximately $5,836,455.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 353,971 shares in the company, valued at $11,143,007.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $28.84 on Friday. 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 of $29.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.25. The stock has a market cap of $229.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $26.32 and a one year high of $38.60.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 19.97%. The firm had revenue of $25.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.41 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 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.59%.

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.