Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 1.7%

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price shot up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $37.29 and last traded at $37.26. 9,807,443 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 39,485,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BAC. Wolfe Research raised Bank of America from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.07.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $286.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research 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 declared 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 a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 33.22%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,538,765 shares of company stock valued at $2,403,399,367. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 9,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $3,502,000. Madrona Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Eastern Bank raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 121,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.