Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $38.96 and last traded at $39.11. 4,918,038 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 39,251,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.45.

Specifically, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,941,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total value of $197,359,635.82. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 820,719,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,779,519,695.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,088,345,979.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total transaction of $156,981,325.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 854,214,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,809,803,102.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.22.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.85 and a 200-day moving average of $38.97. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $303.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 35.99%.

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

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 15.1% in the second quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. SNS Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 3.3% during the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.3% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.