Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Position Lowered by Shapiro Capital Management LLC

Shapiro Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,651,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 900,372 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises about 3.2% of Shapiro Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Shapiro Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $105,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% during the 1st 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 period. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,780,724 shares of company stock valued at $5,342,589,705. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $39.88 on Tuesday. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Cfra reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.22.

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.