Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Boosts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 633,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,821 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $25,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at $1,322,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 27.1% in the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,734,000 after acquiring an additional 20,916 shares during the period. Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the first quarter valued at approximately $771,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 37.7% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 14,901 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 11.5% in the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 196,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,628,000 after purchasing an additional 20,309 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $42.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $40.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $24.96 and a 12-month high of $44.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 961,646,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,619,844,658. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,264,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $216,901,561.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 961,646,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,619,844,658. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total transaction of $402,355.91. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $402,577.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 132,863,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,363,830,468 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BAC shares. Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cfra reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.69.

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.