Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) was up 4.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $42.09 and last traded at $41.90. Approximately 21,663,171 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 38,702,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Evercore ISI raised 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. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Cfra reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.27.

Bank of America Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $325.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.32 and its 200-day moving average is $39.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 2.48%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.62%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 96,082 shares in the company, 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 sold 160,921,082 shares of company stock worth $6,582,343,525. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 839.0% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.