Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

BAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Bank of America from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Phillip Securities downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.64.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $48.86 on Friday. Bank of America has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $52.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $361.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.03. The company had revenue of ($22,273.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.79 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 32.75%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 148,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $6,762,177.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 223,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180,656.99. This represents a 39.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 246.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 75.2% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. raised its stake in Bank of America by 224.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 585.4% in the 2nd quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.