Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) were down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $39.42 and last traded at $39.49. Approximately 4,737,537 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 39,038,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.22.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $309.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 114,391,986 shares of company stock valued at $4,719,796,383 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $2,175,000. IMA Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at $1,453,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 21,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 12,744 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 40,508,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $3,601,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.