Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Sold by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 15.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,501 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,502,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $515,000. Brio Consultants LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in Bank of America by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 7,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 17,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised shares of Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.07.

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,085,191,337.27. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 12,291,807 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $530,145,635.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 998,961,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,085,191,337.27. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 99,609,567 shares of company stock valued at $4,122,483,669. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $0.58 on Friday, reaching $40.75. The company had a trading volume of 49,098,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,229,773. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.26. Bank of America Co. has a twelve month low of $24.96 and a twelve month high of $44.44.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $25.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is 35.99%.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.