Advisortrust Partners LLC Makes New $980,000 Investment in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Advisortrust Partners LLC initiated a new position in Bank of America, buying 17,810 shares valued at about $980,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional interest in BAC remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 70.71% of the company’s shares. Several firms also increased their stakes during the quarter.
• Bank of America’s stock has drawn mixed analyst views, but the overall consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $61.06. The company also recently reported earnings and revenue above estimates and declared a $0.28 quarterly dividend.

Advisortrust Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,810 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners lifted its stake in Bank of America by 2.4% in 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 last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,123,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its position in Bank of America by 1.0% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, 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. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.06.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s internal research is being cited as bullish for the bank sector, with commentary that higher rates can still support net interest income even as the Fed holds rates steady, which could help BAC’s earnings outlook. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also drew attention for its view that lower-income households may be stabilizing, suggesting the consumer backdrop could be improving and reducing recession fears that would hurt loan growth and credit quality. Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America revealed a roughly 3% indirect stake in Qiagen and reported similar holdings disclosures for Umicore; these are portfolio/ownership updates and are unlikely to have a direct impact on BAC’s core banking results. Bank of America Reveals 3.01% Indirect Stake in Qiagen Umicore - Transparency notifications by Bank of America Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that a Fed official spoke at a private Bank of America client dinner may attract headlines, but it appears more like a reputational/regulatory talking point than a direct earnings driver. The Fed's vice chair of supervision spoke at a private dinner Bank of America hosted for clients hours after the central bank announced its latest policy decision
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh scrutiny tied to regulators’ upcoming “debanking” findings, which could create policy and compliance concerns for large banks like BAC. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1%

BAC stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $52.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.54. The company has a market cap of $399.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.75 and a fifty-two week high of $57.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.