Savvy Advisors Inc. Acquires 2,426 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,437,936,000 after purchasing an additional 36,124,363 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,288,347,000 after buying an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Bank of America by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,530,241,000 after buying an additional 165,070 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,042,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $676,264,000 after acquiring an additional 59,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 16,260,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109,197 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,843,142,343.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.69.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $45.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.00 and its 200 day moving average is $40.13. The company has a market cap of $352.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.32. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $27.42 and a 1 year high of $46.52.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 37.82%.

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.