Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 437,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,718 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for about 1.7% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $24,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Bridge LLC increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 566.0% during the 4th quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is being highlighted as a potential beneficiary of a “higher-for-longer” or steeper yield-curve environment, which could support lending margins and fixed-rate asset repricing for large banks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also viewing Bank of America as one of the better-value large banks, with commentary pointing to its relatively attractive valuation and Buffett-backed reputation as reasons it could hold up well versus peers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are also using Bank of America’s research platform to make calls on other stocks, including Alphabet, Taiwan Semiconductor, ASML, Nvidia, Akamai, IQVIA, and VNET. These notes reinforce BofA’s influence on markets, but they do not directly change BAC’s fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore lowered its price target on Bank of America from $70 to $61, which is a modest caution signal even though the firm kept an Outperform rating. Article Title

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $49.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.40 and a 200 day moving average of $52.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $6,719,335.56. Following the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $4,191,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Company Profile

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.