Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Raised to "Accumulate" at Phillip Securities

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was upgraded by Phillip Securities from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a $44.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Phillip Securities' target price points to a potential upside of 3.80% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Cfra restated a "sell" rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 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. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.69.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.39. The stock had a trading volume of 12,873,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,775,246. 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 has a 12 month low of $24.96 and a 12 month high of $44.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.38. The firm has a market cap of $331.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.33.

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. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 13.28%. The firm's revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Bank of America will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 766,305,462 shares in the company, valued at $32,606,297,408.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lindsay D. Hans sold 10,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $402,355.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,907 shares in the company, valued at $402,577.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 144,633,120 shares of company stock valued at $5,862,871,640 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 644,460,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,437,936,000 after buying an additional 36,124,363 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Bank of America by 959.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 9,327,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $370,948,000 after acquiring an additional 8,447,091 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 1st quarter valued at $261,923,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1,432.1% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 5,749,567 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 290.7% during the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 7,114,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,763,000 after purchasing an additional 5,293,000 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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