Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 0.6% on Insider Selling

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s share price fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $38.72 and last traded at $38.99. 4,462,038 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 38,968,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.23.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,722,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total transaction of $67,867,406.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 794,120,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,288,363,972.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,985,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $197,477,754.33. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 797,683,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,596,235,790.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 802,668,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,721,473,347.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.27.

Bank of America Price Performance

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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.09. The company has a market capitalization of $304.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 839.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $30,000. 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.