Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 42.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,007,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 298,003 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up 0.8% of Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Bank of America were worth $39,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Payden & Rygel increased its stake in Bank of America by 669.3% in the 3rd quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 343,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,614,000 after buying an additional 298,500 shares in the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 48,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,937,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 118,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,721,000 after acquiring an additional 12,307 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $479,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 50,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.
Bank of America Stock Up 1.8 %
Shares of NYSE:BAC traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $46.87. The stock had a trading volume of 17,282,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,507,160. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $41.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.55. The company has a market cap of $359.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $47.05.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 10.09%. 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 prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Bank of America announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Bank of America Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.82%.
Insider Activity
In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This trade represents a 1.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 96,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Bank of America from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.26.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on BAC
About Bank of America
(
Free Report)
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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