Bank of America Corporation $BAC Holdings Lowered by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 388,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,071 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 0.6% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $21,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Bridge LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Bank of America from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Autonomous Res dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.06.

More Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America was identified as one of the leaders in first-quarter bank stock repurchases, with a 1.9% reduction in shares outstanding, highlighting strong capital returns and supporting EPS growth. Bank Stock Buybacks Hit a Record in First Quarter. Citi, BofA, and Goldman Were Leaders.
• Positive Sentiment: A new report says Bank of America’s Bay Area franchise is seeing strong growth even as new competitors enter the market, suggesting the bank continues to expand in an important region. Bank of America chalks up strong Bay Area growth even as new rivals pounce
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier commentary noted Bank of America analysts have been constructive on several financial and fintech names after earnings, which can reinforce sentiment around BAC’s own research franchise and trading/markets influence. Bank of America reboots Affirm stock price target after earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America Securities’ India unit settled an insider-trading-related case with SEBI, resolving a regulatory issue but likely not a major near-term driver for the parent company’s stock. BofA Securities settles insider trading case with Sebi

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.35 and a fifty-two week high of $57.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $360.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its 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 last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.