Simmons Bank Purchases 1,124 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Simmons Bank grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 244,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $9,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in Bank of America by 6.4% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 34,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,589,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,441,000 after purchasing an additional 27,994 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 472,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,748,000 after buying an additional 70,107 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $5,017,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 15.6% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 197,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 26,746 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Bank of America from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.69.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total transaction of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,843,142,343.43. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,824,063.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 5,183,829 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.31, for a total value of $203,776,317.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 937,246,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,843,142,343.43. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,067,817 shares of company stock worth $4,548,518,070. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of BAC stock opened at $45.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $352.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.32. Bank of America Co. has a 12-month low of $27.42 and a 12-month high of $46.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.18.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $25.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. 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 authorized a share repurchase 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 buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America 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.