tru Independence LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

tru Independence LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 204,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,530 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 2.5% of tru Independence LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $8,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% in 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 during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 112,670,620 shares of company stock valued at $4,651,681,930. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler Companies raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $38.76 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $303.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

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.