World Investment Advisors Boosts Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 45.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,920 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Bank of America were worth $13,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America joined LTX as a fully integrated liquidity provider on the AI-powered corporate bond trading platform, strengthening its presence in electronic fixed-income trading and reinforcing its AI and markets strategy. Bank Of America Deepens AI Bond Trading Role With LTX Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Bank stock buybacks hit a record in the first quarter, and Bank of America was among the leaders in reducing share count, which is typically supportive for EPS growth and shareholder returns. Bank Stock Buybacks Hit a Record in First Quarter. Citi, BofA, and Goldman Were Leaders.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary about Bank of America’s own valuation suggests only modest changes to fair value estimates, implying the Street is not seeing a major deterioration in the investment case. How The Bank Of America (BAC) Investment Story Is Shifting As Analyst Views Rebalance
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America was also mentioned as a backer of an artisan incubator program and in reports about AI/startup funding, but these items appear more reputational than financially material for BAC shares today. Ibu Movement Launches Ibu Atelier, in Partnership with Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: One headline noted BofA Securities settled an insider-trading-related case with SEBI in India, which is a modest reputational negative, though the financial impact appears limited. BofA Securities settles insider trading case with Sebi

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $4,191,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,362,000. This represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BAC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.06.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $50.80 on Wednesday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $42.35 and a 1-year high of $57.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.42 and its 200 day moving average is $52.49. The company has a market cap of $360.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. Bank of America’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

About Bank of America

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.