Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Now Covered by Truist Financial

Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $52.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $46.10 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.30 and a 200-day moving average of $42.09. 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 has a 1 year low of $31.27 and a 1 year high of $48.08. The company has a market capitalization of $353.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $671,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 210,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,242,000 after acquiring an additional 48,209 shares during the period. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Bank of America by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 119,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,269,000 after purchasing an additional 8,543 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.