Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,072,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 270,387 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $158,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 246.5% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Bank of America by 224.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and other bullish takes following BAC’s solid Q4 results reinforce earnings momentum and analyst support; this underpins investor confidence in BAC’s core earnings and capital outlook. Morgan Stanley remains bullish on Bank of America (BAC) following strong Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Broad earnings?season commentary (Zacks and others) showing rising estimates and a favorable Q4 backdrop supports BAC’s forward EPS outlook and valuation multiples. Earnings Estimates Keep Increasing: A Closer Look
• Positive Sentiment: BofA’s $1B “sharing success”/employee?owner initiative is getting coverage; such programs can help retention and align employee incentives, modestly supportive for execution and cost control over time. Did BAC’s US$1 Billion Sharing Success Plan Just Recast Bank of America’s Employee-Owner Model?
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA research/commentary (MarketWatch piece) promoting international stocks, EM and gold versus bonds highlights the firm’s market views but is unlikely to move BAC shares materially. Now is not the time to own bonds, says Bank of America. These are safer bets.
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA analysts remain active in coverage (example: upgrade of Oklo shows BofA’s analyst influence) — helpful for reputation but indirect for the stock. Oklo Stock Rises as Meta Deal Triggers Bank of America Upgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say BofA is considering offering credit cards at a proposed 10% cap (and CEO Moynihan warned a cap would curb spending). The story raises regulatory and margin?pressure concerns for card balances and interest income — a key driver for bank profitability. Bank of America, Citi consider new credit cards with 10% rate – report
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage (Bloomberg/PYMNTS/NYPost/Blockonomi) on the 10% card idea and Moynihan’s comments increases the chance investors re?price BAC to reflect regulatory risk to card yields and consumer?credit availability. Bank of America and Citi Consider Offering Credit Cards With 10% Interest Rate

Bank of America Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $51.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $377.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.06 and a 12-month high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 16.23%.The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. Bank of America’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAC shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Bank of America to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.74.

Bank of America Company 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.