JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Stock Price

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $57.50 to $62.50 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Oppenheimer cut Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.19.

Bank of America Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $60.57 on Monday. Bank of America has a 1 year low of $44.75 and a 1 year high of $60.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.82 and a 200 day moving average of $52.80. The stock has a market cap of $429.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 27.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of America

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its stake in Bank of America by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners raised its position in Bank of America by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 19,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America shares have been boosted by a sector-wide bank rally, with investors positioning for solid trading and core banking results in the upcoming earnings season. The stock recently touched a record high, reflecting continued optimism about profitability in a higher-rate environment.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both raised their price targets on Bank of America and kept overweight ratings, signaling that Wall Street still sees upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that U.S. banks, including Bank of America, are expected to benefit from a surge in trading activity and advisory fees, helped in part by the SpaceX IPO and a pickup in capital markets activity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles questioning BAC’s valuation and calling it one of Jim Cramer’s weaker picks may temper enthusiasm, but they do not appear to have changed the broader bullish trend.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, reports that Bank of America and other big banks are exploring a possible deal for Fiserv’s debit payments network could be strategically interesting, but no transaction has been announced yet.

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.