VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Has $41.50 Million Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its Bank of America stake by 50.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 754,469 shares valued at about $41.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: several firms raised price targets, and the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $61.06.
• Bank of America reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share on revenue of $30.27 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share payable June 26.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 50.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 754,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 254,200 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Bank of America were worth $41,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.06.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $42.35 and a 52 week high of $57.55. The firm has a market cap of $360.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $50.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.49. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.72%.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America joined LTX as a fully integrated liquidity provider on the AI-powered corporate bond trading platform, strengthening its presence in electronic fixed-income trading and reinforcing its AI and markets strategy. Bank Of America Deepens AI Bond Trading Role With LTX Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Bank stock buybacks hit a record in the first quarter, and Bank of America was among the leaders in reducing share count, which is typically supportive for EPS growth and shareholder returns. Bank Stock Buybacks Hit a Record in First Quarter. Citi, BofA, and Goldman Were Leaders.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary about Bank of America’s own valuation suggests only modest changes to fair value estimates, implying the Street is not seeing a major deterioration in the investment case. How The Bank Of America (BAC) Investment Story Is Shifting As Analyst Views Rebalance
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America was also mentioned as a backer of an artisan incubator program and in reports about AI/startup funding, but these items appear more reputational than financially material for BAC shares today. Ibu Movement Launches Ibu Atelier, in Partnership with Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: One headline noted BofA Securities settled an insider-trading-related case with SEBI in India, which is a modest reputational negative, though the financial impact appears limited. BofA Securities settles insider trading case with Sebi

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by 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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