Insider Selling: Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Sells $465,811,996.80 in Stock

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $465,811,996.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 835,908,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,088,345,979.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 17th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total value of $156,981,325.24.
• On Monday, September 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total transaction of $68,114,452.62.
• On Thursday, September 5th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $202,649,243.92.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,031,639 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total transaction of $326,566,441.74.
• On Friday, August 30th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total transaction of $322,390,566.39.
• On Wednesday, August 28th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,081,075 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.95, for a total value of $282,888,946.25.
• On Monday, August 26th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 10,975,008 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total value of $437,573,568.96.
• On Friday, August 23rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88.
• On Monday, August 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70.
• On Thursday, August 15th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.5 %

BAC opened at $40.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $314.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.88. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in 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 usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of 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. Cfra reissued a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.22.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 402.2% during the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by 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.