Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $46.45 and last traded at $46.28. 6,962,085 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 38,594,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.69.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on BAC

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.22. The company has a market capitalization of $352.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 921,706,667 shares in the company, valued at $36,674,708,279.93. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 107,883,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,344,741,752. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Integrity Financial Corp WA raised its holdings in Bank of America by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 14,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.2% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Bank of America by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

(Get 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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