Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) Position Reduced by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,482,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 350,396 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 2.5% of Pzena Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Bank of America worth $773,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 57,539,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,288,347,000 after buying an additional 895,884 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Bank of America by 0.4% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,354,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,530,241,000 after purchasing an additional 165,070 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 0.4% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,042,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $676,264,000 after buying an additional 59,853 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 23.6% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 16,260,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $646,693,000 after buying an additional 3,109,197 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 3.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,415,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $611,692,000 after buying an additional 569,385 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised 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 research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.26.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BAC stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.06. The stock had a trading volume of 28,019,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,601,410. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $29.32 and a 12-month high of $47.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.32. The firm's 50-day moving average is $41.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.55. 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 (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm 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 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 2,305,415 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total value of $90,533,647.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 812,041,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,888,881,917.97. This trade represents a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.80, for a total value of $3,661,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders have sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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.