ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,774 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McAdam LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 2.1% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 11,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.2% during the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Bank of America by 15.1% during the second quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 3.3% during the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 7,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 0.3% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 94,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.6 %

BAC stock opened at $42.80 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $334.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.72 and its 200 day moving average is $39.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler Companies raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Cfra reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,002,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $160,649,311.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 776,614,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,173,306,471.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 4,002,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total transaction of $160,649,311.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 776,614,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,173,306,471.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,230,389 shares of company stock valued at $6,023,064,684 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% 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.