Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.26

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.26 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, December 27th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%.

Bank of America has raised its dividend by an average of 8.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Bank of America has a dividend payout ratio of 28.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Bank of America to earn $3.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.0%.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:BAC traded up $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $42.80. The stock had a trading volume of 42,194,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,940,754. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.62 and a 200 day moving average of $39.33. 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 cap of $334.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,230,389 shares of company stock valued at $6,023,064,684. Company insiders own 0.29% 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.