Trust Co. of Vermont Lowers Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Trust Co. of Vermont lessened its stake in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,436 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $4,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,322,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,734,000 after buying an additional 20,916 shares in the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $771,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 14,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 196,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,628,000 after buying an additional 20,309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 144,633,120 shares of company stock worth $5,862,871,640. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.62.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $42.61 on Friday. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 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 .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 35.99%.

Bank of America 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.