Axiom Advisory LLC Cuts Stock Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Axiom Advisory LLC reduced its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 44.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,499 shares during the quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 132,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,478,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Northwest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its stake in Bank of America by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 9,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 116,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,906,000 after purchasing an additional 23,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mango Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,684,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BAC opened at $40.18 on Thursday. Bank of America Co. has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $44.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.20.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved 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 buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. This trade 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,918,857 shares of company stock worth $6,421,694,213. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday. Cfra reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com cut Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.27.

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.