Analysts Set Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) PT at $44.26

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $44.26.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, October 18th.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America 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 value of $369,952,591.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, 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 85,119,690 shares of company stock valued at $3,438,777,236 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its stake in Bank of America by 237.6% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 36,089 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 33,983 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 173.7% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 583,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,150,000 after acquiring an additional 370,275 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.2 %

Bank of America stock opened at $47.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.69. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $29.32 and a twelve month high of $47.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

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.