Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 3.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,155,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,607 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $65,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Turim 21 Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 199.1% during the 1st quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Bank of America from $62.50 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.08.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s artificial-intelligence initiatives and branch expansion are expected to improve operating efficiency and customer service. The potential for productivity gains supports the long-term earnings case, although elevated expenses remain a risk. Should You Buy BAC Stock as AI-Led Branch Expansion Boosts Efficiency?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong inflows into gold and cryptocurrency funds reported by BofA suggest elevated client demand for investment products. That activity could benefit the bank’s wealth-management, brokerage and trading businesses, though the impact on BAC’s earnings is indirect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed holdings of approximately 4.69% and 5.87% in QIAGEN, reflecting regulatory notifications about its investment position. The disclosures may attract attention but do not materially change BAC’s core banking outlook. Bank of America Discloses 5.87% Stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA strategists warned that global equities could face an autumn “reality check” tied to the U.S. midterm elections and geopolitical developments. A market pullback could weigh on BAC through lower investment-banking, asset-management and trading activity. Bank of America Warns of an Autumn Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan is hiring senior technology dealmaker David Fishman from Bank of America. Losing an experienced M&A executive could weaken BAC’s technology investment-banking franchise and adds to competitive pressure. JPMorgan Hiring Bank of America’s David Fishman
• Negative Sentiment: The SEC is reportedly investigating margin lending to hedge fund Situational Awareness after a 67% drawdown, with Bank of America among the subpoenaed banks. Potential legal, credit and reputational risks could pressure sentiment. SEC Probe Puts Wall Street Leverage Risk Back in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: BAC is challenging proposed changes to the Federal Reserve’s global systemically important bank capital surcharge. Higher capital requirements could constrain lending, reduce balance-sheet flexibility and pressure returns on equity. Bank of America Joins Clash Over Fed GSIB Capital Rule

Bank of America Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:BAC opened at $62.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $436.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $65.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $61.18 and a 200-day moving average of $54.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.69%.

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.