Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,225 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Shikiar Asset Management reduced its stake in Bank of America by 7.2% in the first quarter, selling 9,225 shares and leaving it with 119,745 shares valued at about $5.84 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and average target price of $61.60.
• Bank of America reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.11 per share on revenue of $30.27 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.28, implying a 2.0% yield.

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,225 shares during the period. Bank of America makes up approximately 1.7% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Bank of America were worth $5,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the third quarter worth $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BAC. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Bank of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus lifted their target price on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Bank of America to $67 from $61 and kept an Overweight rating, reinforcing a bullish Wall Street view of BAC’s earnings power and valuation upside. Morgan Stanley raises price target on Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage continued to point to Bank of America as a long-term holding and highlighted favorable positioning versus other megabanks, which can support investor sentiment around the stock. Bank Of America Corp (BAC) Is A Long Time Berkshire Hathaway Holding
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also received coverage tied to a constructive view on markets and chip-sector demand, signaling that its research franchise is still producing influential calls that can bolster the company’s market profile. Bank of America Details How ‘Micron/Anthropic Partnership’ Locks In ‘Greater Confidence in 2-3-Year Supply/Demand/Pricing Visibility’

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $56.97 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.73. 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 has a market capitalization of $404.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $44.75 and a one year high of $59.19.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of Bank of America 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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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