Simplicity Wealth LLC Sells 144,669 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Simplicity Wealth LLC cut its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 81.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 144,669 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McAdam LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 2.1% in the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 3.3% in the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 0.3% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $559,278,840.51. Following 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,921,082 shares of company stock valued at $6,582,343,525. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Trading 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. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.26. The firm has a market cap of $328.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 35.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.27.

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.