Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 0.3%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $39.09 and last traded at $38.90. Approximately 4,409,279 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 39,212,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $298.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.64.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 114,391,986 shares of company stock worth $4,719,796,383. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brio Consultants LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 17,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Rollins Financial grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Rollins Financial now owns 441,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,879,000 after purchasing an additional 48,998 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 63,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,122,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.