Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares dropped 0.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $46.49 and last traded at $46.62. Approximately 7,340,371 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 38,581,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BAC. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.1 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $358.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.49 and a 200-day moving average of $40.37.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 29,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,064,000. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter valued at $731,000. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 59,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 15,241 shares during the period. Finally, Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 9,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.