Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Sold by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management reduced its Bank of America stake by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 755,557 shares and leaving it with 7.23 million shares valued at about $397.4 million.
• Bank of America posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.11 versus a $1.00 estimate and revenue of $30.27 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $61.06.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, payable June 26, which works out to an annualized dividend yield of about 2.2%.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,225,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 755,557 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 2.0% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Bank of America worth $397,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 161,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,879,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Goldenstone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth $311,000. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $2,340,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Evercore cut their price target on Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Autonomous Res reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.4%

BAC opened at $51.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $365.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $42.35 and a 52 week high of $57.55. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $50.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.38.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $4,191,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 307,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,362,000. This represents a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $4,412,360.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 170,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,988,436.96. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America published an outlook highlighting renewed opportunities in commercial real estate, farmland, timberland, and energy, which suggests its research team sees improving fundamentals in real assets and could support fee-generating client activity. Bank of America Outlook Sees Renewed Opportunity Across Commercial Real Estate, Farmland, Timberland and Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America remained active on the research front, reiterating a Buy rating on Alphabet and reinstating coverage on ServiceNow with a Buy call, reinforcing its influence in market-moving stock research and signaling a constructive view on risk assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s disclosure of indirect crypto ETF exposure and research on Gen Z money habits is more informative than market-moving, but it underscores the bank’s participation in digital-asset-linked products and its focus on younger customers.
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Hold, which can weigh on sentiment by suggesting less upside from current valuation levels. CFRA downgrades Bank of America (BAC) to a Hold
• Negative Sentiment: News that Bank of America will pay a settlement over duplicate 7-Eleven ATM fees may add to concerns about litigation and operating risks, though the financial impact appears limited. Bank of America will pay settlement over duplicate 7-Eleven ATM fees

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.

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