Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Purchased by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,848 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% in the 1st 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. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 114,391,986 shares of company stock valued at $4,719,796,383. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $38.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $299.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $40.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.70.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Bank of America’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.22.

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.