Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 0.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares shot up 0.2% on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $48.00 to $49.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $39.54 and last traded at $39.28. 6,327,327 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 39,061,266 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.22.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on BAC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total value of $154,725,779.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 802,668,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,721,473,347.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total transaction of $154,725,779.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 802,668,860 shares in the company, valued at $31,721,473,347.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,942,405 shares of company stock valued at $5,785,202,516 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 15.1% in the second quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $307.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.