Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Trading 0.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) shares were up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $46.15 and last traded at $46.10. Approximately 5,883,063 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 38,579,504 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup raised shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.69.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.1 %

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 firm has a market cap of $352.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.22.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Bank of America had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.82%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,035,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.65, for a total value of $199,638,463.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 928,460,939 shares in the company, valued at $36,813,476,231.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 107,883,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,344,741,752 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 402.2% in the 1st quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 839.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.