Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.1% Higher

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $40.13 and last traded at $39.96. 5,702,439 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 39,047,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.6 %

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 company has a market cap of $310.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.14.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,813,476,231.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,768,513 shares of company stock worth $2,807,216,504. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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.