Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 115,900 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,228,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 115,900 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $405,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BAC. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 959.6% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,948,000 after purchasing an additional 8,447,091 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter worth $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,627,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 3,550.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,547,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,560,000 after acquiring an additional 4,423,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at about $127,252,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $46.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $353.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.55. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $29.32 and a 1 year high of $47.02.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,721,366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.57, for a total value of $68,114,452.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 861,175,131 shares in the company, valued at $34,076,699,933.67. This trade represents a 0.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Citigroup upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.26.

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.