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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $160,649,311.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 776,614,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,173,306,471.54. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares 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 shares were sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total value 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 value 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 value 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 value 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 value of $156,981,325.24.
• On Monday, September 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total transaction of $68,114,452.62.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $39.97. 26,171,828 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,804,543. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.21. The firm has a market cap of $312.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 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 firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.99%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Bank of America by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 104,030,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,502,720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,879,524 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,288,347,000 after acquiring an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,530,241,000 after acquiring an additional 165,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 37,654,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,267,820,000 after purchasing an additional 5,488,790 shares during the period. 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.