Searle & CO. Trims Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Searle & CO. lowered its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 184,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,653 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.8% of Searle & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at $1,682,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 27.6% in the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 39.5% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 6.0% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 31,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in Bank of America by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 53,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,031,000 after buying an additional 15,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 961,646,715 shares in the company, valued at $39,619,844,658. 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 available at this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 961,646,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,619,844,658. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 132,863,500 shares of company stock worth $5,363,830,468 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.69.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.33. The company had a trading volume of 9,162,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,648,824. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $24.96 and a one year high of $44.44. The company has a market capitalization of $331.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.51.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

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.