13,827 Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC Acquired by Lawood & Co.

Key Points

• Lawood & Co. initiated a new stake in Bank of America, buying 13,827 shares valued at about $760,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Bank of America reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.11 versus the $1.00 estimate and revenue of $30.27 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, and analysts remain broadly constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $61.06.

Lawood & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 640.5% during 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 worth $2,399,798,000 after acquiring an additional 40,235,201 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 23,351,183 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Bank of America by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,448,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275,810 shares during the period. American Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Bank of America by 1,248.5% during the fourth quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 15,224,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $837,338,000 after purchasing an additional 14,095,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at $224,863,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE BAC opened at $49.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.44. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $42.35 and a one year high of $57.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $353.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

More Bank of America News

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

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.

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