Montchanin Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Montchanin Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 11.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 402.2% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,549,666 shares of company stock worth $2,403,801,723 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.8 %

BAC stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $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 market cap of $307.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.86.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.