Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Purchases 53,949 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Fidelis Capital Partners increased its stake in Bank of America by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 53,949 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 279,559 shares worth about $15.4 million.
• Insiders were net sellers over the past three months, with executives including James P. Demare and Thomas M. Scrivener selling large blocks of stock; total insider sales reached 354,588 shares.
• Analysts remain bullish on BAC, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target price of $61.06.

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 53,949 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 1.1% of Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $15,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 19,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 4.2% during the third quarter. Riverview Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at $15,362,000. This represents a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. This 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 three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus raised their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.06.

More Bank of America News

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%

BAC stock opened at $51.21 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.34. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.36 and a 12 month high of $57.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 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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