Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Boosts Stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.3% of Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $2,175,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $3,601,000. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,322,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in Bank of America by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,734,000 after acquiring an additional 20,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster Group Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 8,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAC. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total value of $154,725,779.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 802,668,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,721,473,347.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total transaction of $154,725,779.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 802,668,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,721,473,347.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,942,405 shares of company stock valued at $5,785,202,516. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $39.23 on Wednesday. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.09. 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 market capitalization of $306.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.