Carnegie Investment Counsel Purchases 10,498 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its Bank of America position by 1.7% in the third quarter, adding 10,498 shares and bringing its holdings to 610,442 shares valued at approximately $31.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70.71% of BAC.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 20 Buy ratings and six Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $62.82, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Bank of America’s latest quarter fell slightly short of expectations, with earnings of $1.08 per share and revenue of $29.96 billion; however, the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.32 per share, implying a 2.5% yield.

Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 610,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,498 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Bank of America were worth $31,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $2,571,060,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $2,359,172,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the second quarter worth $2,313,953,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Bank of America by 12.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 42,385,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,066,274,000 after buying an additional 4,721,969 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1.8% during the first 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 buying an additional 561,413 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Oppenheimer cut Bank of America from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.82.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s second-quarter average loans rose 8% year over year while deposits increased 2%. Despite the uneven growth, net interest income climbed 9%, suggesting the bank is generating stronger returns from its deposit base and lending franchise. Bank of America Deposit Franchise Article
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America was upgraded to a Buy rating by JLPascual. Other recent commentary indicated that the previously announced regulatory fine and earnings-related weakness may already be reflected in the stock, supporting the potential for a recovery. Bank of America Buy Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank launched another investment-grade bond offering, including perpetual notes, shortly after raising $8 billion. The issuance may strengthen funding and capital flexibility, although it also adds financing costs and highlights continued reliance on wholesale markets. Bank of America Bond Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed higher indirect stakes in Qiagen, ICU Girişim Sermayesi and Link Bilgisayar. These appear to be investment or regulatory ownership disclosures rather than changes to the core banking business. Qiagen Stake Disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted securities-fraud investigations and class actions tied to alleged investor misstatements concerning anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance failures. The litigation follows more than $1.2 billion in federal penalties and creates potential legal costs and reputational damage. BAC Securities Class Action Alert
• Negative Sentiment: The latest reported quarter missed consensus estimates on both earnings and revenue, while broad bank stocks remain under pressure from rising Treasury yields and uncertainty over Federal Reserve policy. Bank Stocks Under Pressure

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $50.59 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $58.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.77. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.12 and a 12-month high of $65.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $353.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $29.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.58 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change from Bank of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.40%.

Bank of America Profile

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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