Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) fell 0.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $42.07 and last traded at $42.29. 6,131,586 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 38,587,805 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.69.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.24 and a 200-day moving average of $39.58. 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 market capitalization of $325.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 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 (DPR) is 37.82%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 961,646,715 shares in the company, valued at $39,619,844,658. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 961,646,715 shares in the company, valued at $39,619,844,658. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 125,336,839 shares of company stock worth $5,049,968,704. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% in the first 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 last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1,489.3% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.