Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.3% Higher

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $39.49 and last traded at $39.35. 10,728,745 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 39,232,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BAC. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 35.99%.

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

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 134,722,127 shares of company stock valued at $5,539,949,341 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $2,175,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% during the 4th 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. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,601,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,322,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,336,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by 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.