Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Stock Position Increased by Planning Capital Management Corp

Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 296.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,578 shares during the quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 5.9% in the first 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. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,288,347,000 after buying an additional 895,884 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Bank of America by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,530,241,000 after buying an additional 165,070 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,042,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $676,264,000 after buying an additional 59,853 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 16,260,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109,197 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $45.88 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $352.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $28.47 and a 12 month high of $46.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.22 and its 200 day moving average is $40.22. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 2,305,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $90,533,647.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 812,041,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,888,881,917.97. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 107,883,988 shares of company stock worth $4,344,741,752. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BAC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.69.

Bank of America 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.