Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc Sells 3,966,178 Shares

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total transaction of $156,981,325.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 854,214,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,809,803,102.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $465,811,996.80.
• On Monday, September 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total transaction of $68,114,452.62.
• On Thursday, September 5th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $202,649,243.92.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,031,639 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total value of $326,566,441.74.
• On Friday, August 30th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total value of $322,390,566.39.
• On Wednesday, August 28th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,081,075 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.95, for a total value of $282,888,946.25.
• On Monday, August 26th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 10,975,008 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total value of $437,573,568.96.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $268,752,482.88.
• On Monday, August 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70.
• On Thursday, August 15th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $40.87. The stock had a trading volume of 56,363,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,351,367. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $319.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.82.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Brio Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 17,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Rollins Financial lifted its position in Bank of America by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 441,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,879,000 after purchasing an additional 48,998 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BAC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.22.

About Bank of America

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.