Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $47.47 and last traded at $47.47, with a volume of 52016 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.5 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.82. 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 company has a market capitalization of $366.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. Bank of America’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total value of $322,390,566.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 882,723,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,847,417,700.83. This represents a 0.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 77,946,615 shares of company stock valued at $3,152,226,690 over the last three months. Company 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 made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 294,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,701,000 after acquiring an additional 12,748 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 58.0% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 11,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,202 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter worth about $18,568,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 86.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 116,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after buying an additional 54,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its stake in Bank of America by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 16,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.