Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s share price traded down 0.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $45.96 and last traded at $46.47. 5,110,635 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 38,544,160 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.26.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.7 %

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 capitalization of $355.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. 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 will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 10,975,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.87, for a total transaction of $437,573,568.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 910,731,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,310,871,244.33. This trade represents a 1.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Bank of America by 31,021.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 10,207,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,049,000 after acquiring an additional 10,175,100 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 959.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,948,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,432.1% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,627,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 193.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 7,608,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $301,898,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015,378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.