Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 0.5%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price rose 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $40.44 and last traded at $40.37. Approximately 9,865,948 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 39,017,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $318.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.99%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total value of $322,390,566.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 882,723,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,847,417,700.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total value of $322,390,566.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 882,723,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,847,417,700.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,609,567 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,483,669. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at $3,734,407,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% in the 1st 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. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 360.9% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 37,290,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,255,514,000 after purchasing an additional 29,198,846 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Bank of America by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 104,030,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,502,720,000 after buying an additional 9,879,524 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Bank of America by 959.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,948,000 after buying an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% 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.