Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Purchased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management increased its Bank of America stake by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 711,643 shares worth about $39.1 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on BAC, with recent target hikes from firms including Truist, HSBC, and Argus; the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $61.06.
• Bank of America reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $1.11 versus the $1.00 estimate and revenue of $30.27 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 711,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 180,833 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $39,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BAC. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,357,614.86. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, April 24th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.06.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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 Down 0.2%

BAC stock opened at $49.77 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $42.35 and a 12 month high of $57.55. The firm has a market cap of $353.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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

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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