Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target Raised to $56.00

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $56.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BAC. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. One research 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 MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC opened at $46.72 on Friday. Bank of America has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $47.02. The company has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.64 and a 200 day moving average of $40.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $268,752,482.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 921,706,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,674,708,279.93. The trade was a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 102,848,970 shares of company stock worth $4,145,103,288 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 237.6% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the third quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Bank of America by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 20,916 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 14,901 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.