Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,734,407,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Bank of America by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 104,030,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,502,720,000 after acquiring an additional 9,879,524 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,833,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 40,508,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935,040 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,549,666 shares of company stock worth $2,403,801,723. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.34. The stock had a trading volume of 26,886,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,278,254. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.86. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. 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 stock has a market cap of $307.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up previously 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 issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.07.

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.