Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $42.27.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $40.11 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $313.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a 1-year low of $24.96 and a 1-year high of $44.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.36 and a 200-day moving average of $39.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,650,481 shares of company stock worth $6,050,547,676. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.