Bank of America Corporation $BAC Stock Position Reduced by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Royal London Asset Management reduced its Bank of America position by 1.4%, selling 45,027 shares and retaining 3.18 million shares valued at approximately $181.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 70.71% of BAC.
• Wall Street remains generally positive, with 21 analysts rating BAC a Buy and six a Hold. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $64.08, compared with a recent price of $62.38.
• Bank of America exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.21 in EPS and $31.56 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 19.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, implying a 2.1% yield.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,184,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,027 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $181,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter valued at $34,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Bank of America from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.08.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1%

BAC opened at $62.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $436.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The stock's fifty day moving average is $61.18 and its 200-day moving average is $54.90. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $46.12 and a one year high of $65.22.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s artificial-intelligence initiatives and branch expansion are expected to improve operating efficiency and customer service. The potential for productivity gains supports the long-term earnings case, although elevated expenses remain a risk. Should You Buy BAC Stock as AI-Led Branch Expansion Boosts Efficiency?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong inflows into gold and cryptocurrency funds reported by BofA suggest elevated client demand for investment products. That activity could benefit the bank’s wealth-management, brokerage and trading businesses, though the impact on BAC’s earnings is indirect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed holdings of approximately 4.69% and 5.87% in QIAGEN, reflecting regulatory notifications about its investment position. The disclosures may attract attention but do not materially change BAC’s core banking outlook. Bank of America Discloses 5.87% Stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA strategists warned that global equities could face an autumn “reality check” tied to the U.S. midterm elections and geopolitical developments. A market pullback could weigh on BAC through lower investment-banking, asset-management and trading activity. Bank of America Warns of an Autumn Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan is hiring senior technology dealmaker David Fishman from Bank of America. Losing an experienced M&A executive could weaken BAC’s technology investment-banking franchise and adds to competitive pressure. JPMorgan Hiring Bank of America’s David Fishman
• Negative Sentiment: The SEC is reportedly investigating margin lending to hedge fund Situational Awareness after a 67% drawdown, with Bank of America among the subpoenaed banks. Potential legal, credit and reputational risks could pressure sentiment. SEC Probe Puts Wall Street Leverage Risk Back in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: BAC is challenging proposed changes to the Federal Reserve’s global systemically important bank capital surcharge. Higher capital requirements could constrain lending, reduce balance-sheet flexibility and pressure returns on equity. Bank of America Joins Clash Over Fed GSIB Capital Rule

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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