Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 87,260 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its Bank of America stake by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 87,260 shares and bringing its total to 264,474 shares worth about $14.5 million.
• Bank of America recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.11 versus estimates of $1.00 and revenue of $30.27 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 22 Buy ratings and 5 Hold ratings; however, Evercore trimmed its price target to $61 from $70 while maintaining an Outperform rating.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 87,260 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Bank of America were worth $14,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 566.0% in the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of BAC opened at $49.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $353.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $42.35 and a 12 month high of $57.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.44.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at $11,357,614.86. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 170,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,988,436.96. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is being highlighted as a potential beneficiary of a “higher-for-longer” or steeper yield-curve environment, which could support lending margins and fixed-rate asset repricing for large banks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also viewing Bank of America as one of the better-value large banks, with commentary pointing to its relatively attractive valuation and Buffett-backed reputation as reasons it could hold up well versus peers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are also using Bank of America’s research platform to make calls on other stocks, including Alphabet, Taiwan Semiconductor, ASML, Nvidia, Akamai, IQVIA, and VNET. These notes reinforce BofA’s influence on markets, but they do not directly change BAC’s fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore lowered its price target on Bank of America from $70 to $61, which is a modest caution signal even though the firm kept an Outperform rating. Article Title

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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