Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $45.50 and last traded at $45.33. 9,486,805 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 38,585,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $346.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70. Following the sale, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,813,476,231.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAC. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% in the third quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 14,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in Bank of America by 15.1% in the 2nd 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. Finally, SNS Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.3% in the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.