Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s share price rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $52.00 to $56.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $46.38 and last traded at $46.28. Approximately 8,164,909 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 38,576,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.90.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BAC. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 921,706,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,674,708,279.93. This represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 107,883,988 shares of company stock worth $4,344,741,752. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 37,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.1% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% in the third quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 14,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.9 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.