Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 126.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,118,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 624,874 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $54,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 7.7% during the first quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 691,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,733,000 after buying an additional 49,336 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 4.7% during the first quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 2,232,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,842,000 after buying an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 238.2% during the first quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 74,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,615,000 after buying an additional 52,229 shares during the period. Delta Global Management LP boosted its position in Bank of America by 2.6% during the first quarter. Delta Global Management LP now owns 372,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,142,000 after acquiring an additional 9,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in Bank of America by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 4,974,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,490,000 after acquiring an additional 117,037 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was 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 represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.77.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $62.15 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $56.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.37. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $44.75 and a 52 week high of $62.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $441.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.65 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI could expand profit margins: Morgan Stanley strategists identified Bank of America as one of the major U.S. companies best positioned to benefit from AI investment, potentially driving net-margin expansion through 2027. The opportunity could improve operating efficiency and long-term earnings growth. Bank of America (BAC) Could Be One Of Wall Street's Biggest AI Winners
• Positive Sentiment: Strong second-quarter performance: Bank of America’s second-quarter earnings per share increased 34.4% year over year and exceeded analyst expectations. Record net interest income, strong trading activity and resilient investment-banking results underscored the benefits of its diversified business model. Should You Invest in Bank of America Following Impressive Q2 Results?
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and capital-return support: Recent coverage indicates BAC reached a new 12-month high following a dividend announcement, reinforcing investor interest in shareholder returns. Bank of America Sets New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthy consumer backdrop: Broader big-bank earnings suggest U.S. consumers remain relatively resilient despite economic pressures, which is supportive for BAC’s credit quality and consumer-banking operations. What Big Bank Earnings Just Revealed About the Health of the U.S. Consumer
• Neutral Sentiment: Research visibility: BofA’s calls favoring semiconductor and cybersecurity stocks highlight its research franchise, but these recommendations have limited direct impact on BAC’s earnings. BofA Names Top Semiconductor Stocks to Buy After Sector Selloff

Bank of America 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.

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