Heritage Financial Services LLC Sells 2,780 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Heritage Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,780 shares during the period. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 15.1% in the second quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 1.6% in the second quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 72,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,867,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.24. 35,009,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,175,723. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $306.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.97. Bank of America Co. has a 1 year low of $24.96 and a 1 year high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 reacquire up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total value of $559,278,840.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 owns 1,020,161,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,958,509,063.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,768,513 shares of company stock valued at $2,807,216,504. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Bank of America from $39.50 to $40.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 target price (up from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

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.