Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,225,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 755,557 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for about 2.0% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $397,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 6,174 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 65,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after buying an additional 18,227 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $1,396,000. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus raised their price objective on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Autonomous Res cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

More Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America published an outlook highlighting renewed opportunities in commercial real estate, farmland, timberland, and energy, which suggests its research team sees improving fundamentals in real assets and could support fee-generating client activity. Bank of America Outlook Sees Renewed Opportunity Across Commercial Real Estate, Farmland, Timberland and Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America remained active on the research front, reiterating a Buy rating on Alphabet and reinstating coverage on ServiceNow with a Buy call, reinforcing its influence in market-moving stock research and signaling a constructive view on risk assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s disclosure of indirect crypto ETF exposure and research on Gen Z money habits is more informative than market-moving, but it underscores the bank’s participation in digital-asset-linked products and its focus on younger customers.
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Hold, which can weigh on sentiment by suggesting less upside from current valuation levels. CFRA downgrades Bank of America (BAC) to a Hold
• Negative Sentiment: News that Bank of America will pay a settlement over duplicate 7-Eleven ATM fees may add to concerns about litigation and operating risks, though the financial impact appears limited. Bank of America will pay settlement over duplicate 7-Eleven ATM fees

Bank of America Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $51.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $365.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $42.35 and a 12-month high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.72%.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.