Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 194,303 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,632,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 194,303 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Bank of America worth $1,691,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Accent Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC now owns 39,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 11,873 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 237.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 36,089 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Bank of America by 125.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 33,983 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 20,916 shares during the period. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 14,901 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock traded up $0.48 on Thursday, reaching $46.55. 33,926,271 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,631,176. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.07 and a 200 day moving average of $40.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $29.32 and a 52 week high of $47.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $357.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total value of $369,952,591.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 1.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 96,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Bank of America from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.26.

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.