Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Sells $197,359,635.82 in Stock

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,941,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $197,359,635.82. Following the sale, the insider now owns 820,719,071 shares in the company, valued at $32,779,519,695.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, September 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $465,811,996.80.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $156,981,325.24.
• On Monday, September 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total value of $68,114,452.62.
• On Thursday, September 5th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $202,649,243.92.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,031,639 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total transaction of $326,566,441.74.
• On Friday, August 30th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total transaction of $322,390,566.39.
• On Wednesday, August 28th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,081,075 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.95, for a total transaction of $282,888,946.25.
• On Monday, August 26th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 10,975,008 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total value of $437,573,568.96.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88.
• On Monday, August 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.45. The stock had a trading volume of 30,989,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,435,480. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.97. Bank of America Co. has a 52-week low of $24.96 and a 52-week high of $44.44. 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 cap of $308.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. 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 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BAC. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.