Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 3.3%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price was down 3.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $35.14 and last traded at $36.33. Approximately 25,193,420 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 39,342,691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.84%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 33.22%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’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 owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 56,538,765 shares of company stock worth $2,403,399,367 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 839.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.