Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Here’s Why

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) fell 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $42.14 and last traded at $42.15. 3,835,452 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 38,329,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra restated a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.69.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $325.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,078,718 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,920,425 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baugh & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 150,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,662,000 after buying an additional 8,715 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 86,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $1,276,000. M&G PLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 586,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,471,000 after purchasing an additional 245,448 shares during the period. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.