Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 19,573 Shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,573 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 0.6% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $7,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 29,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Bank of America during the 1st quarter worth $14,420,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1,489.3% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 6.8% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 229,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,706,000 after acquiring an additional 14,672 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the first quarter valued at about $636,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 8,694,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.55, for a total transaction of $369,952,591.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 766,305,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,606,297,408.10. This represents a 1.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,824,063.60. This represents a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 107,883,988 shares of company stock valued at $4,344,741,752 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:BAC opened at $46.75 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.33. Bank of America Co. has a 12 month low of $29.22 and a 12 month high of $46.84. 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 $358.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 37.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Bank of America from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.26.

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.