Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 0.3%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $40.15 and last traded at $40.15. 5,580,336 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 39,338,613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BAC. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.91. The firm has a market cap of $312.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the firm’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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,780,724 shares of company stock valued at $5,342,589,705. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barometer Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $2,175,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 40,508,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,363,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,040 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $3,601,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new position in Bank of America during the first quarter worth $1,322,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $6,336,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.