Cooper Financial Group Grows Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Cooper Financial Group raised its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 98.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,880 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,172,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,594,488,000 after buying an additional 2,611,776 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $2,571,060,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 12.5% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 42,385,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,066,274,000 after buying an additional 4,721,969 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth about $2,313,953,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Bank of America by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 31,135,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,517,599,000 after acquiring an additional 561,413 shares in the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. UBS maintained its Buy rating on BAC, while JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating, signaling continued confidence in the bank’s earnings power and valuation. UBS Keeps Their Buy Rating on Bank of America JPMorgan Reiterates Overweight Rating on Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Capital-markets activity could support fee revenue. BofA executive JD Moriarty said public markets can absorb potential mega-IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic, reflecting strong demand for technology listings. A robust IPO market could benefit BofA’s investment-banking and underwriting businesses. BofA Sees Strong Demand for OpenAI, Anthropic IPOs
• Positive Sentiment: Customer-support and fraud-prevention initiatives enhance the franchise. BofA expanded fraud-education tools and webinars for small businesses, reinforcing its commercial-banking relationships, although the direct financial impact is likely limited. Bank of America Expands Fraud Education
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. BAC is expected to report results shortly, and investors will be watching net interest income, credit quality, investment-banking revenue and management’s guidance on interest rates. Bank of America Expected to Announce Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Rate and bond-market concerns are weighing on sentiment. BofA strategist Savita Subramanian said bonds are competing more directly with stocks after a selloff driven by changing expectations for rate hikes to contain inflation. Higher yields can pressure bank bond portfolios and increase uncertainty around loan demand and funding costs. BofA’s Subramanian Says Bonds Compete With Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Strategists are cautious about market concentration and evolving risks. BofA has warned that investors may be overexposed to AI-related spending and underestimating consumer weakness, while recommending hedges against a potential technology bubble. That defensive positioning can dampen risk appetite for large financial stocks. Bank of America Says Investors Are Overplaying AI BofA Analysts Discuss Tech Bubble Risk

Bank of America Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE BAC traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $53.56. 30,904,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 37,146,559. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.49. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $46.12 and a 12 month high of $65.22. The company has a market cap of $374.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The company had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 29.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Bank of America from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Bank of America from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Oppenheimer downgraded Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.39.

Bank of America Company Profile

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its principal businesses include consumer banking, wealth and investment management, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and sales and trading.

Through its banking and financial services businesses, the company offers deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity products, consumer and business loans, payment services, treasury management, brokerage services and investment advice.