Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Short Interest Up 5.8% in October

Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 63,840,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the October 15th total of 60,320,000 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 36,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 6,754,272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total value of $268,752,482.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 921,706,667 shares in the company, valued at $36,674,708,279.93. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock worth $4,145,103,288. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 839.0% during 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 during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 525.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of BAC traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $46.44. The company had a trading volume of 14,440,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,585,813. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $356.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.44. Bank of America has a 52-week low of $29.32 and a 52-week high of $47.02.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Phillip Securities raised Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.26.

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.

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