Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,196,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,500 shares during the period. Bank of America comprises 0.4% of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $65,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BAC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 640.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 46,516,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,399,798,000 after buying an additional 40,235,201 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,809,225,000 after acquiring an additional 23,351,183 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,448,816,000 after acquiring an additional 14,275,810 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,863,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 12,496,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $644,681,000 after acquiring an additional 4,273,472 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $4,412,360.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 170,184 shares in the company, valued at $7,988,436.96. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 227,832 shares of company stock worth $11,094,960 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $53.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.47. 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 $380.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.21. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $40.56 and a 1-year high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Erste Group Bank cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Bank of America from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.02.

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.