Guardian Investment Management Lowers Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Guardian Investment Management cut its Bank of America stake by 22.4% in the first quarter, selling 15,780 shares and leaving it with 54,779 shares worth about $2.67 million.
• Bank of America’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.11 versus the $1.00 consensus and revenue of $30.27 billion, up 10.7% from a year earlier.
• The company remains widely favored by analysts and pays a dividend, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” an average price target of $61.06, and a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share yielding about 2.0%.

Guardian Investment Management lowered its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,780 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 2.2% of Guardian Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Guardian Investment Management's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 3.8% during 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 during the period. Holistic Financial Partners raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC opened at $56.26 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $52.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.53. The company has a market cap of $399.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. 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 52-week low of $44.75 and a 52-week high of $57.98.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. Bank of America's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s internal research is being cited as bullish for the bank sector, with commentary that higher rates can still support net interest income even as the Fed holds rates steady, which could help BAC’s earnings outlook. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also drew attention for its view that lower-income households may be stabilizing, suggesting the consumer backdrop could be improving and reducing recession fears that would hurt loan growth and credit quality. Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America revealed a roughly 3% indirect stake in Qiagen and reported similar holdings disclosures for Umicore; these are portfolio/ownership updates and are unlikely to have a direct impact on BAC’s core banking results. Bank of America Reveals 3.01% Indirect Stake in Qiagen Umicore - Transparency notifications by Bank of America Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that a Fed official spoke at a private Bank of America client dinner may attract headlines, but it appears more like a reputational/regulatory talking point than a direct earnings driver. The Fed's vice chair of supervision spoke at a private dinner Bank of America hosted for clients hours after the central bank announced its latest policy decision
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh scrutiny tied to regulators’ upcoming “debanking” findings, which could create policy and compliance concerns for large banks like BAC. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were 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 $72,803,774.97. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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