S Harris Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 15,171 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

S Harris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $834,000. Bank of America makes up 0.8% of S Harris Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Legacy Bridge LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $399.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $52.91 and a 200 day moving average of $52.54. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.75 and a 12 month high of $57.98.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio 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’s internal research is being cited as bullish for the bank sector, with commentary that higher rates can still support net interest income even as the Fed holds rates steady, which could help BAC’s earnings outlook. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also drew attention for its view that lower-income households may be stabilizing, suggesting the consumer backdrop could be improving and reducing recession fears that would hurt loan growth and credit quality. Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America revealed a roughly 3% indirect stake in Qiagen and reported similar holdings disclosures for Umicore; these are portfolio/ownership updates and are unlikely to have a direct impact on BAC’s core banking results. Bank of America Reveals 3.01% Indirect Stake in Qiagen Umicore – Transparency notifications by Bank of America Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that a Fed official spoke at a private Bank of America client dinner may attract headlines, but it appears more like a reputational/regulatory talking point than a direct earnings driver. The Fed’s vice chair of supervision spoke at a private dinner Bank of America hosted for clients hours after the central bank announced its latest policy decision
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh scrutiny tied to regulators’ upcoming “debanking” findings, which could create policy and compliance concerns for large banks like BAC. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of Bank of America 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 sale, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Autonomous Res lowered their price target on Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Bank of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. 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 data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

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.