Wedmont Private Capital Grows Position in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 66.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 126,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,464 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $6,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 31.9% during the third quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 5,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares during the period. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 52.4% during the 3rd quarter. Journey Retirement Planning & Investment Management LLC now owns 23,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 610.2% during the 3rd quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 44,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 38,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 125,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect higher net interest income and relatively strong trading results to support third-quarter revenue. A recent view also argues that a shift toward Federal Reserve rate cuts could provide additional NII upside. Q3 earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen began coverage with a Hold rating and a $60 price target, implying potential upside from the referenced share price. The target provides a modestly constructive valuation signal, although the rating is not bullish. TD Cowen coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on whether BAC can sustain the momentum from its latest quarter, when it exceeded earnings and revenue estimates. However, forecasts indicate earnings-per-share growth could slow from roughly 36% to single digits, raising the bar for October 14 results. BAC EPS growth outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: BAC issued 5.10% senior unsecured notes due in 2028. The offering adds funding flexibility and gives investors a current reference point for how creditors assess the bank’s risk, but it also highlights ongoing funding costs. Bank of America bond issue
• Negative Sentiment: The positive NII and trading outlook is partly offset by weaker investment-banking fees, higher credit risks and expectations for slower EPS growth. These factors could pressure the stock if management provides cautious guidance. BAC mixed Q3 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: BAC agreed to a $39 million Merrill cash-sweep settlement. While likely manageable relative to the bank’s size, the charge adds a legal and regulatory overhang. Separately, Chief Equity Strategist Michael Hartnett said investors are accumulating cash and that a potential Democratic sweep of Congress could weaken risk appetite, creating a less favorable market backdrop for banks. Merrill settlement

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.12. The company had a trading volume of 11,993,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,129,883. 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 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $65.22. The company has a market capitalization of $378.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.54.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $31.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This is a positive change 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%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 29.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BAC. Argus set a $70.00 price objective on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Bank of America from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen started coverage on Bank of America in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.22.

About Bank of America

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.