Employees Retirement System of Texas Decreases Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas reduced its Bank of America stake by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 93,436 shares and leaving it with 2.47 million shares valued at about $135.8 million.
• Bank of America continues to draw support from analysts, with several firms raising price targets and the stock holding a Moderate Buy consensus rating and average target of $61.06.
• The bank recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reported stronger revenue growth, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, yielding about 2.1% annually.

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,469,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 93,436 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.1% of Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Bank of America were worth $135,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 566.0% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

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

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said it expects a wave of Brazilian IPOs in 2027, with at least 10 listings likely after a five-year drought. That could mean more underwriting and advisory fees for BAC’s investment banking unit. Bank of America Expects Surge of Brazilian IPOs After 5-Year Drought
• Positive Sentiment: Reports said Bank of America cleared a derivatives-related hurdle in its federal “living will,” easing a regulatory overhang and reinforcing confidence in the bank’s risk-management profile. Bank of America clears derivatives hurdle flagged by federal regulators in 2023 'living will'
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also received a “Moderate Buy” consensus from brokerages, suggesting Wall Street remains generally constructive on BAC. Bank of America Corporation NYSE: BAC Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles mainly referenced Bank of America as a conference host, research provider, or counterparty in other companies’ announcements, which is not likely to have a direct material impact on BAC’s stock.
• Negative Sentiment: One article highlighted a cautious view on BAC’s valuation despite its digital progress, signaling that some investors still see limited upside after the recent run. Bank of America (BAC) Has Become a Digital Leader. I’m Still Cautious on the Stock

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.06.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $52.25 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $50.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.29 and a 1-year high of $57.55. The firm has a market cap of $370.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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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