Bank of America sets $ 2.9 billion share buyback program through March, to pay regular dividend

Shares of Bank of America Corp. BAC,
-2.88%
gained 1.2% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after the bank said it authorized the buyback of $ 2.9 billion of common stock through March 31. The bank also announced a regular quarterly dividend of 18 cents per share, payable March 26 to registered shareholders. March 5. The announcements precede BofA’s fourth quarter report, which is expected to be revealed later Tuesday. The bank said it was the maximum allowed for the period, according to guidelines set by the Federal Reserve. Based on Friday’s closing price of $ 33.01, this repurchase program could represent up to 87.85 million shares, or about 1% of the shares outstanding. BofA stock rose 39.2% in the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 SPX,
-0.72%
gained 10.0%.