Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $56.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 21.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BAC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1 %

BAC stock opened at $45.91 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.22. Bank of America has a twelve month low of $29.20 and a twelve month high of $46.52. 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 $352.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. The trade was a 1.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. The trade was a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 107,883,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,344,741,752 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 17.0% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 130,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,178,000 after buying an additional 18,932 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 3,007.7% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 108,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 104,668 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 26,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 7,211 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1,930.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 92,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 88,252 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.