Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management trimmed its Bank of America stake by 0.7% in the first quarter, but still held 2.15 million shares valued at about $104.2 million.
• Bank of America reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $1.11 versus $1.00 expected and revenue of $30.27 billion versus $29.72 billion forecast. Revenue rose 10.7% year over year.
• The stock has continued to draw analyst support, with multiple firms raising price targets and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy; the average target is now $62.19.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,149,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,532 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $104,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $58.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.90. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.75 and a 52-week high of $60.83.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.Bank of America's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded Bank of America from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on Bank of America and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.19.

Key Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America extended OpenAI a $520 million credit line, its first loan to the AI company, signaling BAC is deepening relationships in one of the market’s fastest-growing sectors and strengthening its reputation as a major AI financier. BofA extends first $520 million loan to OpenAI ahead of IPO, source says
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on Nvidia and called it a “unique, durable growth franchise,” reinforcing BAC’s credibility on AI-related equity research and its exposure to the broader AI investment theme. BofA Says Buy Nvidia (NVDA) Stock, Calls It a ‘Unique, Durable Growth Franchise’
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also reiterated a Buy on Nvidia and said current valuation already reflects overly cautious expectations, which may support investor sentiment toward BAC’s analyst franchise and AI-linked banking activity. Nvidia backed by Bank of America as analysts see AI leadership supporting further growth
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s stock has also benefited from stronger sector sentiment and recent optimism around its stress-test results and payments initiatives, which suggests investors are still comfortable with BAC’s capital position and earnings outlook. Why Bank of America Stock Jumped in June

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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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