GS Investments Inc. Trims Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

by · The Markets Daily

GS Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 23.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,093 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Bank of America by 959.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,948,000 after purchasing an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter worth $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1,432.1% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,627,000 after buying an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 3,550.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,547,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,804,560,000 after acquiring an additional 4,423,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $127,252,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $46.06 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.92 and its 200 day moving average is $40.55. The company has a market capitalization of $353.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $29.32 and a twelve month high of $47.02. 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 – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BAC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.26.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on BAC

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 921,706,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,674,708,279.93. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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