Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lessened its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,614 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 40.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 21,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 6,174 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Bank of America by 517.6% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 42,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after buying an additional 35,200 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 152,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,232,000 after buying an additional 23,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 568,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,882,000 after buying an additional 15,665 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Bank of America from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Argus lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore set a $59.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on shares of Bank of America in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of BAC stock opened at $48.68 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $57.55. The firm has a market cap of $349.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.28.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.02. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.82 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 29.24%.

More Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst buy thesis: BAC is described as “slipping back into the buy zone” — trading at ~12.5x trailing earnings (below its 10-year average) with a multiyear tailwind from net interest margin expansion as low‑yielding assets reprice, supporting operating leverage and returns. Bank Of America: Slipping Back Into The ‘Buy’ Zone
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend & income angle: Coverage argues BAC remains attractive for dividend-seeking portfolios — an important point for income investors given the bank’s payout and current yield profile. Bank of America (BAC) Could Be a Great Choice
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth-management product expansion: Bank of America Private Bank launched an Art Consulting service — a niche revenue/relationship initiative that modestly diversifies fee income and deepens HNW client ties. Bank Of America Art Consulting Adds Dimension To Wealth And Valuation Story
• Neutral Sentiment: Underwriting / investment-banking activity: BofA Securities is lead in SM Energy’s $1bn senior notes offering — a reminder of recurring fee revenue from capital markets, but not large enough alone to swing BAC’s stock. Vinson & Elkins Advises Initial Purchasers on SM Energy’s $1 Billion Senior Notes Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholder / holdings disclosure: Galapagos filed transparency notices showing Bank of America entities crossed a reporting threshold — operational detail about holdings rather than a direct signal about BAC’s performance. Galapagos Receives Transparency Notifications from Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / market risk: BofA strategists warn that a prolonged U.S.–Iran war could push investors out of Europe and Japan into oil and the dollar — a macro shock that raises volatility and can hurt banks via risk‑off flows, trading losses, or credit stress. BofA’s Hartnett Sees European, Japanese Stocks at Risk From War
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment cooling: Coverage noting that recent BAC share momentum has cooled and valuation dynamics are being reassessed — this sort of reassessment can trigger short‑term selling even if fundamentals remain intact. Assessing Bank Of America (BAC) Valuation As Recent Share Momentum Cools
• Negative Sentiment: Sector rotation commentary: Bank of America research and market pieces (and consequent media coverage) around selling oil stocks and shifting sector preferences signal rotation and positioning changes that can temporarily depress financial shares amid heightened commodity and FX volatility. Bank of America (BAC) Is Telling Investors to Sell Oil Stocks as Crude Prices Soar. Here’s Why

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.