Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Aspire Private Capital LLC

Aspire Private Capital LLC decreased its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $3,502,000. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 82,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,115,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,218,000 after purchasing an additional 664,284 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its stake in Bank of America by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 84,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of Bank of America 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 $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $216,901,561.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 961,646,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,619,844,658. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,549,666 shares of company stock worth $2,403,801,723. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BAC. Cfra reissued a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $38.17. 33,029,441 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,573,695. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.71. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $44.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $298.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

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.