Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price Down 3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) were down 3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $56.07 and last traded at $56.2170. 43,268,518 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 37,245,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

Bank of America News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Bank of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is increasing its investments in artificial-intelligence ventures and expanding AI across its workforce. Potential productivity gains, lower servicing costs and new infrastructure-related revenue could support long-term efficiency and growth. Bank of America Bankrolls AI Ventures After Initial Skepticism
• Positive Sentiment: The bank declared an $18.12 dividend on its Series L preferred shares, underscoring continued capital-return activity, although the announcement does not directly change the common-stock dividend. Bank of America Preferred Shares Series L Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAC. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Citigroup raised their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Bank of America from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.08.

Bank of America Trading Down 3.0%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.91. The stock has a market cap of $393.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The company had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 29.36%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of America

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 45.4% in the second quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 40,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 12,794 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $4,089,000. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Bank of America during the second quarter valued at $2,132,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Bank of America by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,411,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,497,655,000 after buying an additional 1,487,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the 1st quarter worth about $67,507,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, businesses, institutional investors and governments. Its operations include consumer banking, credit and debit cards, mortgages, small-business banking, commercial banking, investment banking, securities trading and investment management.

The company provides consumer and wealth-management services through Bank of America and Merrill, including deposit accounts, lending, brokerage, retirement planning, financial advice and private banking.