Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys 2,740 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 56.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 402.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1,489.3% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,813,476,231.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total transaction of $199,638,463.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock valued at $4,548,518,070 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $46.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $353.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.07. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $27.42 and a 1 year high of $46.52. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.69.

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.