Monterey Private Wealth Inc. Decreases Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Monterey Private Wealth Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. Monterey Private Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 22.7% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 128,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,114,000 after purchasing an additional 23,852 shares during the last quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 2.4% during the third quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Bank of America by 2.4% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 111,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,418,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. grew its position in Bank of America by 8.5% during the third quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 16,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp grew its position in Bank of America by 4.0% during the third quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 23,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $923,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $39.24 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $24.96 and a fifty-two week high of $44.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.10. The company has a market cap of $306.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, 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.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,650,481 shares of company stock valued at $6,050,547,676. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.27.

Bank of America Profile

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.