Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.62.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of BAC opened at $42.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $334.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.35.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,230,389 shares of company stock worth $6,023,064,684. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 74,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 43,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,738,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 9.5% during the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 12,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.3% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 21,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its position in Bank of America by 2.4% in the third quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 195,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,747,000 after buying an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently 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.