Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.2% Higher

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price traded up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $40.95 and last traded at $40.80. 8,609,184 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 39,124,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on BAC. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cfra restated a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.22.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $302.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations 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 was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. 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 2.69%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $202,649,243.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 863,977,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,801,017,687.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total value of $202,649,243.92. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 863,977,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,801,017,687.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,670,620 shares of company stock worth $4,651,681,930 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Rock Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% during the second quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 85,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 15,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL boosted its position in Bank of America by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 83,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,329,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $785,000. Hedge funds and other 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.