Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Purchases 24,619 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,619 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department's holdings in Bank of America were worth $8,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Accent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 43.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its position in Bank of America by 237.6% in the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 51,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 36,089 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 125.8% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 61,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,421,000 after buying an additional 33,983 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 98,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,734,000 after buying an additional 20,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 14,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BAC. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Bank of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.26.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 2,305,415 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 812,041,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,888,881,917.97. This trade represents a 0.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 102,848,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,145,103,288. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE BAC opened at $46.06 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.55. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.32 and a fifty-two week high of $47.02. The stock has a market cap of $353.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $25.30 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 37.82%.

Bank of America announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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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