Bamco Inc. NY Grows Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 45.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,794 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,629,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,080 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at about $4,089,000. Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,132,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,411,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,497,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,809 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 2,175,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $119,647,000 after acquiring an additional 555,063 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Bank of America from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.08.

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 current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $46.12 and a one year high of $65.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.92. The stock has a market cap of $436.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.69%.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source