Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s share price fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $40.38 and last traded at $40.49. 15,521,334 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 39,207,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.87.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $465,811,996.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 835,908,435 shares in the company, valued at $34,088,345,979.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $156,981,325.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 854,214,328 shares in the company, valued at $33,809,803,102.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BAC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.22.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $316.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 9,941,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,381,000 after purchasing an additional 2,827,700 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 35,120.0% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 130,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,183,000 after buying an additional 129,944 shares during the last quarter. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 46.0% in the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 21,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 6,788 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 10,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth $875,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.