Insider Selling: Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Sells $160,649,311.50 in Stock

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,002,225 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total transaction of $160,649,311.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 776,614,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,173,306,471.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 7th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,076,169 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $163,250,568.45.
• On Friday, October 4th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,192,207 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $207,895,968.28.
• On Wednesday, October 2nd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,722,523 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total transaction of $67,867,406.20.
• On Monday, September 30th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,985,553 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $197,477,754.33.
• On Friday, September 27th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total transaction of $154,725,779.52.
• On Wednesday, September 25th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 2,305,415 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $90,533,647.05.
• On Monday, September 23rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,941,403 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $197,359,635.82.
• On Thursday, September 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $465,811,996.80.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total transaction of $156,981,325.24.
• On Monday, September 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total transaction of $68,114,452.62.

Bank of America Stock Up 5.0 %

BAC opened at $41.95 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $328.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.26.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost 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 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BAC. Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.27.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Bank of America by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 132,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Northwest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Bank of America by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 9,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 116,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,906,000 after acquiring an additional 23,158 shares during the period. Finally, Mango Investments LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,684,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently 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.