BLB&B Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,922 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 5.9% during 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 buying an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 959.6% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,627,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Bank of America by 290.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,293,000 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value 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 $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 132,863,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,363,830,468. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.69.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.3 %

BAC opened at $42.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.04 and a 200 day moving average of $39.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44. The firm has a market cap of $330.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America 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.