Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Pzena Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,480,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,676 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for approximately 1.1% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $356,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,629,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,625,000 after buying an additional 1,603,080 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 54.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,008,000 after buying an additional 20,591 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 629,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,482,000 after buying an additional 86,290 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $482,000. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 198,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,262,000 after buying an additional 41,809 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America published an outlook highlighting renewed opportunities in commercial real estate, farmland, timberland, and energy, which suggests its research team sees improving fundamentals in real assets and could support fee-generating client activity. Bank of America Outlook Sees Renewed Opportunity Across Commercial Real Estate, Farmland, Timberland and Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America remained active on the research front, reiterating a Buy rating on Alphabet and reinstating coverage on ServiceNow with a Buy call, reinforcing its influence in market-moving stock research and signaling a constructive view on risk assets.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s disclosure of indirect crypto ETF exposure and research on Gen Z money habits is more informative than market-moving, but it underscores the bank’s participation in digital-asset-linked products and its focus on younger customers.
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA downgraded Bank of America (BAC) to Hold, which can weigh on sentiment by suggesting less upside from current valuation levels. CFRA downgrades Bank of America (BAC) to a Hold
• Negative Sentiment: News that Bank of America will pay a settlement over duplicate 7-Eleven ATM fees may add to concerns about litigation and operating risks, though the financial impact appears limited. Bank of America will pay settlement over duplicate 7-Eleven ATM fees

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BAC shares. HSBC raised their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Argus raised their target price on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bank of America news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,362,000. The trade was a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,357,614.86. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Bank of America Trading Up 0.4%

BAC opened at $51.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $365.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.59 and a 200-day moving average of $52.38. Bank of America Corporation has a 52 week low of $42.35 and a 52 week high of $57.55.

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

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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