Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Raymond James Trust N.A.

Raymond James Trust N.A. reduced its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 227,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,537 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the second 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. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 15.1% during 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 last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Stockton increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 21,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,768,513 shares of company stock valued at $2,807,216,504. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.4 %

BAC stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $39.77. 45,616,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 39,208,762. 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’s 50 day moving average is $40.20 and its 200 day moving average is $38.09. The firm has a market cap of $311.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.99%.

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.