Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Shares Down 0.4% – Time to Sell?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares fell 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $42.03 and last traded at $42.17. 5,165,067 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 38,698,820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler Companies upgraded Bank of America from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.69.

Bank of America Price Performance

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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.51. The company has a market capitalization of $331.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 13.28% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 35.99%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,526,661 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total value of $313,861,763.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 966,911,316 shares in the company, valued at $40,320,201,877.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 7,526,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.70, for a total transaction of $313,861,763.70. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 966,911,316 shares in the company, valued at $40,320,201,877.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 132,863,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,363,830,468. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 59,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 46,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 67,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 11,400 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 142,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 17,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. 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.