Insider Selling: Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Major Shareholder Sells 5,035,018 Shares of Stock

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 15th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99.
• On Wednesday, July 31st, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,993,520 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.63, for a total transaction of $284,146,717.60.
• On Monday, July 29th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $216,901,561.20.
• On Friday, July 26th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,526,661 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $313,861,763.70.
• On Wednesday, July 24th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,420,599 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.39, for a total value of $229,779,191.61.
• On Monday, July 22nd, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,349,021 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.41, for a total value of $269,261,980.61.
• On Friday, July 19th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of Bank of America stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91.
• On Wednesday, July 17th, Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BAC opened at $38.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $302.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $24.96 and a 52 week high of $44.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 35.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $48.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI increased 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 Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,502,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 58,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other 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.