Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 6.9% Following Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s share price traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $56.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Bank of America traded as high as $45.45 and last traded at $44.77. 36,316,191 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 38,332,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.88.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on BAC. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.97.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,813,476,231.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 928,460,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Accent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 11,873 shares in the last quarter. Adero Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 15.9% during the third quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 6,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 144.8% in the third quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC now owns 47,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 27,917 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 5.2% in the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 24,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 10.9% during the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $348.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.32. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.