Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Sells $197,477,754.33 in Stock

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,985,553 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total transaction of $197,477,754.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 797,683,307 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,596,235,790.27. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

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

• 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 Friday, September 27th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 3,915,126 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was 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 shares were 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 value 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.
• On Monday, September 9th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total transaction of $68,114,452.62.
• On Thursday, September 5th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,031,014 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.28, for a total transaction of $202,649,243.92.
• On Tuesday, September 3rd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,031,639 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.66, for a total value of $326,566,441.74.
• On Friday, August 30th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,938,699 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.61, for a total value of $322,390,566.39.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.2 %

BAC stock opened at $40.11 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.12. The stock has a market cap of $313.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra restated a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% during the first quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 839.0% in the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.