Bank of America Corporation $BAC Stock: Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Decreases Position

Key Points

• Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG reduced its Bank of America position by 3.9% in the third quarter, selling 17,558 shares and retaining 428,350 shares valued at approximately $23.3 million.
• Institutional investors own about 70.7% of Bank of America’s stock, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $62.52 despite recent target reductions.
• Bank of America shares recently traded near $50.88, and the company reported quarterly EPS and revenue below analyst expectations. However, it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, equivalent to a 2.5% annual yield.

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 428,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,558 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Bank of America were worth $23,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $2,571,060,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $2,359,172,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth $2,313,953,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 42,385,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,066,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,135,112 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,517,599,000 after purchasing an additional 561,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BAC. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Bank of America from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore set a $62.00 price target on Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.52.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.88. The stock had a trading volume of 19,463,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,707,371. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.12 and a 12-month high of $65.22. The company has a market cap of $355.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.02). Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.80%. The firm had revenue of $29.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Bank of America's payout ratio is 30.40%.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Loan growth is outpacing deposit growth. Second-quarter average loans rose 8% year over year versus 2% deposit growth, while net interest income increased 9%. This suggests BAC is still expanding earning assets and benefiting from its funding base, although deposit costs remain important. Bank of America deposit franchise and lending article
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see upside after the recent selloff. Bank of America was upgraded to a Buy rating by JLPascual, while commentary from Morgan Stanley suggested the stock may already reflect much of the $1.2 billion regulatory penalty and recent fee weakness. Bank of America Buy rating article
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term capital allocation remains supportive. BAC has reduced its share count by nearly one-third over the past decade, highlighting the potential benefit of buybacks to per-share earnings and shareholder returns. Bank of America share count article
• Neutral Sentiment: Interest-rate expectations remain unsettled. Bank of America analysts continue to expect an October Federal Reserve rate hike despite markets assigning relatively low odds to one. Higher rates could support net interest income, but rising Treasury yields and uncertainty have pressured bank stocks broadly. Bank of America October rate hike article
• Neutral Sentiment: AI and wealth-management initiatives offer longer-term opportunities. BAC is restricting autonomous AI agents from moving customer funds, while its family-office research points to growing demand for private markets and alternative investments. These developments are strategically relevant but have limited immediate earnings impact. Bank of America AI access rules article
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and litigation risks remain the largest overhang. A Treasury penalty exceeding $1.2 billion tied to anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance violations has prompted multiple securities-fraud lawsuits and law-firm investigations. The actions could increase legal costs and scrutiny, although the ultimate financial impact is uncertain. Bank of America investor alert article
• Negative Sentiment: The latest earnings report fell short of expectations. BAC reported quarterly EPS of $1.08 versus the $1.10 consensus estimate, while revenue of $29.96 billion missed the $30.58 billion forecast. The shortfall has fueled concerns about fee income and near-term earnings momentum.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation NYSE: BAC is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides banking, lending, investment, payments and financial management services to consumers, businesses, institutional investors and governments.

The company's consumer banking operations offer checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans and other consumer financial products. Through Merrill, Bank of America provides wealth management, investment advisory, brokerage and retirement services.

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