Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) dropped 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $39.54 and last traded at $39.58. Approximately 5,243,896 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 39,295,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.87.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on BAC. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.9 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $308.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.94.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the sale, the insider now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 129,780,724 shares of company stock valued at $5,342,589,705. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 402.2% in 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 position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.