Advisortrust Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 17,810 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Advisortrust Partners LLC bought a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 17,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth $4,774,210,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at $2,357,461,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 640.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 46,516,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,399,798,000 after purchasing an additional 40,235,201 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,809,225,000 after buying an additional 23,351,183 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in Bank of America by 914.5% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 25,095,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,380,239,000 after acquiring an additional 22,621,546 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.91 and a 200 day moving average of $52.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.75 and a 12 month high of $57.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.06.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s internal research is being cited as bullish for the bank sector, with commentary that higher rates can still support net interest income even as the Fed holds rates steady, which could help BAC’s earnings outlook. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also drew attention for its view that lower-income households may be stabilizing, suggesting the consumer backdrop could be improving and reducing recession fears that would hurt loan growth and credit quality. Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America revealed a roughly 3% indirect stake in Qiagen and reported similar holdings disclosures for Umicore; these are portfolio/ownership updates and are unlikely to have a direct impact on BAC’s core banking results. Bank of America Reveals 3.01% Indirect Stake in Qiagen Umicore – Transparency notifications by Bank of America Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that a Fed official spoke at a private Bank of America client dinner may attract headlines, but it appears more like a reputational/regulatory talking point than a direct earnings driver. The Fed’s vice chair of supervision spoke at a private dinner Bank of America hosted for clients hours after the central bank announced its latest policy decision
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh scrutiny tied to regulators’ upcoming “debanking” findings, which could create policy and compliance concerns for large banks like BAC. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation is a multinational financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides a broad array of banking, investment, asset management and related financial and risk management products and services to individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, governments and institutional investors. The firm operates through consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking and markets businesses, offering capabilities across lending, deposits, payments, advisory and capital markets.

Its consumer-facing offerings include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, credit cards and small business banking, supported by a nationwide branch network and digital channels.