Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 0.9% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $40.38 and last traded at $40.49. Approximately 15,521,334 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 39,207,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.87.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $465,811,996.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 835,908,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,088,345,979.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $156,981,325.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 854,214,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,809,803,102.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $316.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a PEG ratio of 1.40 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 fifty day simple moving average of $40.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.82.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 839.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.