Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.26.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 77,946,615 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,226,690. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% in the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Bank of America by 237.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after buying an additional 36,089 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 33,983 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 173.7% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 583,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,150,000 after acquiring an additional 370,275 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 27.1% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,734,000 after acquiring an additional 20,916 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.5 %

BAC stock opened at $47.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $366.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.82. 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 has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $47.84.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America Company 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.