Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Up 1.2% Following Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price traded up 1.2% on Tuesday 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 $42.00 and last traded at $41.82. 4,198,919 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 38,213,281 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.33.

BAC has been the topic of several other reports. Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. 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 research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction 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. 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 the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock worth $4,548,518,070 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 15.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 197,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,851,000 after buying an additional 26,746 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Bank of America by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 205,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth $242,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 13.7% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 4,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $40.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.