Bank of America Corporation $BAC Stock: Mezzasalma Advisors LLC Grows Holdings

Key Points

• Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its Bank of America stake by 290.3% in the third quarter, adding 37,079 shares for a total of 49,851 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Institutional investors own about 70.7% of BAC, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $64.22.
• Bank of America’s latest results fell short of expectations, with adjusted EPS of $1.08 versus $1.10 expected and revenue of $29.96 billion versus $30.58 billion forecast; the company nevertheless raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share.

Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 290.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,079 shares during the period. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 167.6% during the second quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Bank of America by 69.9% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Bank of America by 199.1% in the 1st quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC initiated coverage on Bank of America in a report on Monday, September 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Argus set a $70.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.22.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Underlying banking activity remained healthy: net interest income increased 8% year over year to $16.4 billion, consumer banking revenue rose 4%, wealth-management revenue climbed 13%, average loans grew 6%, and deposits increased 2%. The bank also returned $8.3 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Bank of America Reports Third-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Some market commentary argued that the selloff could create a long-term buying opportunity, while options activity and a reported institutional purchase of long-dated BAC call options pointed to bullish interest among some investors. Unusual Long-Dated BAC Call Options
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Brian Moynihan said Bank of America is addressing regulatory requirements and expects elevated remediation and software-patching expenses to decline over time. The bank hired about 1,000 contractors to help fix software vulnerabilities identified through Anthropic’s Mythos testing. Bank of America Software-Patching Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS was $1.08 versus the $1.10 consensus, while revenue of roughly $30.0 billion missed estimates near $30.6 billion. Reported net income fell 17% to $6.9 billion, or $0.91 per share, after the regulatory charge. Bank of America Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Regulators imposed approximately $1.21 billion in penalties over anti-money-laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and sanctions-compliance failures, including failures to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. The non-tax-deductible charge reduced quarterly earnings by about $0.17 per share and intensified concerns that compliance problems may persist. Bank of America Regulatory Penalties
• Negative Sentiment: Expenses rose faster than revenue, pushing the adjusted efficiency ratio to about 62% from 60%. Bond-trading revenue fell 17%, investment-banking and trading results disappointed, and provisions for credit losses reached $1.3 billion. Hotter-than-expected inflation and several shareholder-law-firm investigations added to the cautious backdrop.

Bank of America Stock Down 4.7%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $51.40 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $359.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.02). Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $29.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.60 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.36%.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation NYSE: BAC is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its principal businesses include consumer banking, wealth and investment management, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and sales and trading.

Through its banking and financial services businesses, the company offers deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity products, consumer and business loans, payment services, treasury management, brokerage services and investment advice.

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