Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 0.4% After Insider Selling

Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) fell 0.4% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $39.81 and last traded at $40.02. 5,881,685 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 38,701,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.19.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,002,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $160,649,311.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 776,614,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,173,306,471.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,076,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total value of $163,250,568.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 784,549,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,421,224,816.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,192,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $207,895,968.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 788,626,102 shares in the company, valued at $31,576,589,124.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.27.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $325.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 36.62%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Bank of America by 360.9% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 37,290,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,255,514,000 after acquiring an additional 29,198,846 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $370,948,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $261,923,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 5,749,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.