Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Sells 12,550 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 149,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,550 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 1.6% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clarity Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Able Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Novak & Powell Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $279,000. American Trust bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Up 5.0 %

NYSE BAC opened at $41.95 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.26. The stock has a market cap of $328.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BAC. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Cfra restated a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.27.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of Bank of America 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,921,082 shares of company stock worth $6,582,343,525. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Bank of America

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.