Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.5% Higher

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.44 and last traded at $40.37. 9,865,948 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 39,017,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Piper Sandler raised Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $48.00 price target (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Bank of America from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.07.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.1 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $317.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $530,145,635.91. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 84,589,793 shares of company stock worth $3,517,204,156. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 839.0% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 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.