Oppenheimer Lowers Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target to $56.00

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price target trimmed by Oppenheimer from $57.00 to $56.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.92.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:BAC opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.97 and a 200 day moving average of $44.81. Bank of America has a 52 week low of $33.06 and a 52 week high of $52.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $384.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.34.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.75%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares in the company, valued at $10,180,656.99. The trade was a 39.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of America

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 246.5% during the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Bank of America by 75.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 585.4% during the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

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.