Oppenheimer Boosts Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target to $50.00

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its target price boosted by Oppenheimer from $49.00 to $50.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.69.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $42.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $44.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 144,633,120 shares of company stock valued at $5,862,871,640. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 5.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,437,936,000 after acquiring an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Bank of America by 959.6% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,948,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,627,000 after acquiring an additional 5,749,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Bank of America by 290.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,114,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,763,000 after acquiring an additional 5,293,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.