Constant Guidance Financial LLC Raises Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Constant Guidance Financial LLC boosted its Bank of America stake by 89.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 21,738 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 46,021 shares worth about $2.53 million.
• Institutional interest in BAC remains strong, with several other investors also increasing positions and 70.71% of the stock now held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive: analysts have assigned BAC a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $61.06, while Bank of America recently beat quarterly earnings estimates and continues to pay a 2.2% dividend yield.

Constant Guidance Financial LLC increased its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 89.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,738 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 1.7% of Constant Guidance Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Constant Guidance Financial LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Bank of America by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,629,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $254,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,080 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Bank of America by 54.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 20,591 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at about $482,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its position in Bank of America by 26.6% in the third quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 198,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,262,000 after purchasing an additional 41,809 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in Bank of America by 11.2% in the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 677,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,974,000 after purchasing an additional 68,093 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Bank of America from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. HSBC raised their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.06.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,357,614.86. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s analysts continued to highlight attractive opportunities in other companies, including upgraded calls on names like Intuit, Walmart, Spotify, Nvidia, and Oklo, underscoring the firm’s active and influential research platform. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Brazil could see a surge of IPOs after a long drought, which points to a possible rebound in investment-banking activity and future fee opportunities. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America cleared a derivatives hurdle in its regulatory “living will,” removing an overhang and signaling continued progress on capital-planning and risk-management requirements. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway reportedly has not sold its Bank of America stake, which some investors may view as a confidence signal for BAC’s long-term value. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s presentation at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference kept BAC in focus, but the transcript itself did not provide a clear new stock-moving catalyst. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also drew attention from conference-related announcements and charitable news, including Boston Marathon fundraising tied to Bank of America sponsorship, which is positive for brand visibility but not a major earnings driver. Article

Bank of America Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $51.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $363.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.36 and a 1 year high of $57.55. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.72%.

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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