ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 51,643 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,426,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 51,643 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $78,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Bank of America by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,888,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,883,000 after purchasing an additional 107,897 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Bank of America by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 497,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,348,000 after purchasing an additional 20,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Bank of America News

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

• Negative Sentiment: CFRA cut Bank of America (BAC) to Hold, suggesting limited near-term upside after the recent run in large bank stocks and weighing on sentiment toward the shares. Bank of America Cut to Hold by CFRA: Is the Big Bank Trade Running Out of Gas?
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America released a Better Money Habits study showing Gen Z is increasingly managing expenses on its own, but the report is mainly a consumer insight update and does not directly change earnings expectations. BofA Study Finds Fewer Gen Z Rely on Family for Financial Assistance, Even With 42% Living Paycheck to Paycheck
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial stocks were weaker ahead of the open, pointing to broader sector pressure that can spill over into BAC even without company-specific news. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Fall Pre-Bell Tuesday

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total transaction of $4,412,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 170,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,988,436.96. The trade was a 35.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 21.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $50.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $42.35 and a 12 month high of $57.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.46 and a 200-day moving average of $52.41. The company has a market capitalization of $359.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its earnings results 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. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

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.