Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Sells $369,952,591.90 in Stock

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,002,225 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $160,649,311.50.
• On Monday, October 7th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,076,169 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total transaction of $163,250,568.45.
• On Friday, October 4th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,192,207 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $207,895,968.28.
• On Wednesday, October 2nd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,722,523 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.40, for a total transaction of $67,867,406.20.
• On Monday, September 30th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,985,553 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $197,477,754.33.
• On Friday, September 27th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.52, for a total value of $154,725,779.52.
• On Wednesday, September 25th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 2,305,415 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total value of $90,533,647.05.
• On Monday, September 23rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,941,403 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $197,359,635.82.
• On Thursday, September 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 11,422,560 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.78, for a total transaction of $465,811,996.80.
• On Tuesday, September 17th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,966,178 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.58, for a total transaction of $156,981,325.24.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Bank of America stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $42.61. 31,694,844 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,905,824. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.35. The firm has a market cap of $333.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its 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 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 35.99%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra reissued a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

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

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.