Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) rose 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $46.23 and last traded at $46.22. Approximately 9,160,896 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 38,602,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $352.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.11 and its 200-day moving average is $40.18. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

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

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 839.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.