Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) traded up 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.09 and last traded at $40.00. 5,059,113 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 38,754,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BAC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.27.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.32 and a 200-day moving average of $39.21. The company has a market capitalization of $325.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 36.62%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 160,921,082 shares of company stock valued at $6,582,343,525. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 839.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.