Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $968,000 Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management cut its Bank of America stake by 67.5% in the first quarter, selling 41,246 shares and leaving it with 19,849 shares worth about $968,000.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains high, with about 70.71% of Bank of America shares held by institutions and hedge funds. Several other investors increased positions in the stock during recent quarters.
• Bank of America’s shares are trading near a 52-week high after a recent 2% gain, supported by strong earnings, higher analyst price targets, and a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 67.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,246 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BAC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 6,174 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 65,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,108,000 after buying an additional 18,227 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,396,000. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.2% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 8,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America shares have been boosted by a sector-wide bank rally, with investors positioning for solid trading and core banking results in the upcoming earnings season. The stock recently touched a record high, reflecting continued optimism about profitability in a higher-rate environment.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both raised their price targets on Bank of America and kept overweight ratings, signaling that Wall Street still sees upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that U.S. banks, including Bank of America, are expected to benefit from a surge in trading activity and advisory fees, helped in part by the SpaceX IPO and a pickup in capital markets activity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles questioning BAC’s valuation and calling it one of Jim Cramer’s weaker picks may temper enthusiasm, but they do not appear to have changed the broader bullish trend.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, reports that Bank of America and other big banks are exploring a possible deal for Fiserv’s debit payments network could be strategically interesting, but no transaction has been announced yet.

Bank of America Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $59.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $425.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.75 and a 52-week high of $59.94. The business's fifty day moving average is $53.82 and its 200 day moving average is $52.80. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is 27.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Bank of America from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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