Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. Trims Position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC)

Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 29.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 73,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,958 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up about 1.0% of Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 839.0% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 525.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 1,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $47.00 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $29.32 and a 12 month high of $47.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $360.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.69.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $25.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.25 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays increased their price target 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.26.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 2,305,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.27, for a total transaction of $90,533,647.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 812,041,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,888,881,917.97. This trade represents a 0.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 92,000 shares of the company’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 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 represents a 48.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 85,119,690 shares of company stock valued at $3,438,777,236 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.