Verus Capital Partners LLC Sells 4,998 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Verus Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,998 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on BAC shares. Citigroup raised Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.69.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $45.88 on Wednesday. Bank of America Co. has a one year low of $27.42 and a one year high of $46.52. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $352.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.13.

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, 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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 937,246,053 shares in the company, valued at $36,843,142,343.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. The trade was 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 worth $4,548,518,070 over the last ninety days. 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.