Sculptor Capital LP Buys 832,000 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Sculptor Capital LP boosted its Bank of America stake by 64% in the fourth quarter, buying 832,000 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 2.13 million shares worth about $117.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with several other hedge funds and investors also adding to positions; overall, institutions own 70.71% of Bank of America’s stock.
• Bank of America reported strong results and income returns, beating earnings and revenue estimates last quarter, while recently declaring a $0.28 quarterly dividend, or $1.12 annualized, for a 2.0% yield.

Sculptor Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 64.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,132,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 832,000 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up 1.2% of Sculptor Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sculptor Capital LP's holdings in Bank of America were worth $117,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in Bank of America by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Holistic Financial Partners grew its position in Bank of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Bank of America by 1.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAC shares. Erste Group Bank lowered Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore cut their price objective on Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE BAC opened at $55.89 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $44.06 and a twelve month high of $57.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $396.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's 50 day moving average is $52.42 and its 200 day moving average is $52.44.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company 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 2.0%. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

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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