IPG Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 29,069 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• IPG Investment Advisors LLC increased its Bank of America stake by 149.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 29,069 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 48,500 shares worth about $2.67 million.
• Bank of America’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $1.11 versus the $1.00 consensus and revenue of $30.27 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $61.06, while the company also declared a $0.28 quarterly dividend yielding about 2.2%.

IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC - Free Report) by 149.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,069 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its stake in 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 worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners lifted its stake in 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 worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 4.2% in the third quarter. Riverview Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,686 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Autonomous Res lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.06.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $51.21 on Thursday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.36 and a 1 year high of $57.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $50.94 and its 200 day moving average is $52.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $4,412,360.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 170,184 shares in the company, valued at $7,988,436.96. The trade was a 35.58% 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. Also, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Key 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

About Bank of America

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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