Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,965 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 valued at $24,437,936,000 after buying an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1,432.1% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Bank of America by 290.7% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,114,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $269,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,293,000 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. 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 125,336,839 shares of company stock valued at $5,049,968,704. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.69.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.89. 27,466,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,639,859. 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 capitalization of $325.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $44.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.58.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

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.