Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,318 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in Bank of America by 2.4% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 265,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,564,000 after purchasing an additional 6,131 shares in the last quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000. True Vision MN LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $523,000. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 7.7% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 16.3% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,802,000 after acquiring an additional 6,355 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 114,391,986 shares of company stock valued at $4,719,796,383 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Cfra reissued a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $39.64 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.81. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. The firm has a market cap of $309.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America 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.