Equitable Holdings Inc. Has $13.26 Million Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Equitable Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,796 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $13,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 199.1% during the first quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Bank of America from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Bank of America from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.08.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s artificial-intelligence initiatives and branch expansion are expected to improve operating efficiency and customer service. The potential for productivity gains supports the long-term earnings case, although elevated expenses remain a risk. Should You Buy BAC Stock as AI-Led Branch Expansion Boosts Efficiency?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong inflows into gold and cryptocurrency funds reported by BofA suggest elevated client demand for investment products. That activity could benefit the bank’s wealth-management, brokerage and trading businesses, though the impact on BAC’s earnings is indirect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed holdings of approximately 4.69% and 5.87% in QIAGEN, reflecting regulatory notifications about its investment position. The disclosures may attract attention but do not materially change BAC’s core banking outlook. Bank of America Discloses 5.87% Stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA strategists warned that global equities could face an autumn “reality check” tied to the U.S. midterm elections and geopolitical developments. A market pullback could weigh on BAC through lower investment-banking, asset-management and trading activity. Bank of America Warns of an Autumn Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan is hiring senior technology dealmaker David Fishman from Bank of America. Losing an experienced M&A executive could weaken BAC’s technology investment-banking franchise and adds to competitive pressure. JPMorgan Hiring Bank of America’s David Fishman
• Negative Sentiment: The SEC is reportedly investigating margin lending to hedge fund Situational Awareness after a 67% drawdown, with Bank of America among the subpoenaed banks. Potential legal, credit and reputational risks could pressure sentiment. SEC Probe Puts Wall Street Leverage Risk Back in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: BAC is challenging proposed changes to the Federal Reserve’s global systemically important bank capital surcharge. Higher capital requirements could constrain lending, reduce balance-sheet flexibility and pressure returns on equity. Bank of America Joins Clash Over Fed GSIB Capital Rule

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $62.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.92. The company has a market cap of $436.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.12 and a 52-week high of $65.22.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.69%.

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.