Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) PT Lowered to $47.00 at Morgan Stanley

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an outperform rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up previously from $46.00) on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded Bank of America from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $42.27.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $39.24 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Bank of America has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $25.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.22 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. Bank of America’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,577.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,690,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.07, for a total transaction of $559,278,840.51. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,020,161,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,958,509,063.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,650,481 shares of company stock worth $6,050,547,676. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Bank of America by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,437,936,000 after buying an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 104,030,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,502,720,000 after purchasing an additional 9,879,524 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,288,347,000 after buying an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,530,241,000 after buying an additional 165,070 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 37,654,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,267,820,000 after buying an additional 5,488,790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% 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.