Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Takes $25.44 Million Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 446,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,444,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,809,225,000 after buying an additional 23,351,183 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth about $4,774,210,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,619,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,169,062,000 after buying an additional 2,929,779 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 53,783,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,958,110,000 after buying an additional 1,105,833 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,172,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,594,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611,776 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s active participation in the August bond market demonstrates continued access to wholesale funding and allows it to extend maturities through senior unsecured offerings. Its latest quarterly results also showed strong earnings and revenue growth, providing a fundamental counterweight to near-term concerns. Bank of America’s Stock Market Signal Flashes Warning
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America increased its indirect stake in Turkish industrial technology company Hidropar to 5.386%. The disclosure indicates portfolio or client-related investment activity, but it is not expected to materially affect BAC’s earnings. Bank of America Lifts Indirect Stake in Hidropar to 5.386%
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America crossed a disclosure threshold in Smith & Nephew, reflecting an updated shareholding. The move is unlikely to have a meaningful direct impact on BAC’s common stock. Smith & Nephew Discloses Updated Bank of America Shareholding
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s analysts issued views on HP, Home Depot and Nvidia. These calls may generate research-related attention, but they do not materially change BAC’s own fundamentals. Bank of America Sends Warning on HP Stock
• Negative Sentiment: A market commentary warns that crowded positioning in Bank of America could make any broader-market pullback sharper. Separate analysis questions whether BAC is undervalued after its recent bond issuance, while noting recent short-term share-price weakness. These factors are weighing on sentiment despite the bank’s solid earnings profile. Bank of America’s Stock Market Signal Flashes Warning Is Bank of America Undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis of Bank of America preferred stock suggests that more attractive alternatives may exist than Series GG. While this primarily affects preferred securities, it can modestly temper sentiment toward BAC’s capital-raising instruments. Bank of America Preferreds: Better Propositions Available Than Series GG

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $62.50 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.08.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.1%

BAC opened at $61.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $431.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $46.12 and a 12 month high of $65.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.67.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Bank of America’s payout ratio 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.