Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 0.5%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares dropped 0.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $38.38 and last traded at $38.51. Approximately 6,654,148 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 39,033,297 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.20 and a 200-day moving average of $38.02. 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 cap of $311.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,768,513 shares of company stock valued at $2,807,216,504 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $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 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $30,000. 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.