Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 6.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) traded up 6.9% during trading on Wednesday 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 $45.45 and last traded at $44.77. 36,316,191 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 38,332,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.88.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on BAC. Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $465,811,996.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 835,908,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,088,345,979.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total value of $465,811,996.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 835,908,435 shares in the company, valued at $34,088,345,979.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% in the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.4 %

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 company has a market capitalization of $343.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $40.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.96.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.