Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Research Coverage Started at Truist Financial

Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $52.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on BAC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:BAC opened at $46.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $354.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a 52-week low of $31.27 and a 52-week high of $48.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $385,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $671,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 210,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,242,000 after purchasing an additional 48,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Bank of America by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 119,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,269,000 after purchasing an additional 8,543 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.