Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares were down 0.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $42.14 and last traded at $42.15. Approximately 3,835,452 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 38,329,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cfra reiterated 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 raised their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.69.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $320.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.78. 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 (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in 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 typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,078,718 shares of company stock worth $4,548,920,425. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Bank of America by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,437,936,000 after buying an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,288,347,000 after acquiring an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,530,241,000 after acquiring an additional 165,070 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 4.7% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 21,465,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $813,983,000 after purchasing an additional 954,885 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 23.6% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 16,260,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $646,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109,197 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.