Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Shares Purchased by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 683,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $27,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 959.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,948,000 after purchasing an additional 8,447,091 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Bank of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,151,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,627,000 after buying an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Bank of America by 290.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,114,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,763,000 after buying an additional 5,293,000 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank of America by 3,550.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,547,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,804,560,000 after buying an additional 4,423,215 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total transaction of $3,661,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC stock opened at $46.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $358.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $29.22 and a 12 month high of $46.84.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

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

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.