Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Acquired by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 330,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,800 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises about 0.5% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $18,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its position in shares of Bank of America by 95.3% during the second quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 31,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,775,000 after buying an additional 15,194 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its position in Bank of America by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 215,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,302,000 after buying an additional 16,260 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 6.9% during the second quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 47,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 3,028 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 32.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 767,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,748,000 after purchasing an additional 188,908 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s artificial-intelligence initiatives and branch expansion are expected to improve operating efficiency and customer service. The potential for productivity gains supports the long-term earnings case, although elevated expenses remain a risk. Should You Buy BAC Stock as AI-Led Branch Expansion Boosts Efficiency?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong inflows into gold and cryptocurrency funds reported by BofA suggest elevated client demand for investment products. That activity could benefit the bank’s wealth-management, brokerage and trading businesses, though the impact on BAC’s earnings is indirect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America disclosed holdings of approximately 4.69% and 5.87% in QIAGEN, reflecting regulatory notifications about its investment position. The disclosures may attract attention but do not materially change BAC’s core banking outlook. Bank of America Discloses 5.87% Stake in QIAGEN
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA strategists warned that global equities could face an autumn “reality check” tied to the U.S. midterm elections and geopolitical developments. A market pullback could weigh on BAC through lower investment-banking, asset-management and trading activity. Bank of America Warns of an Autumn Reality Check
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan is hiring senior technology dealmaker David Fishman from Bank of America. Losing an experienced M&A executive could weaken BAC’s technology investment-banking franchise and adds to competitive pressure. JPMorgan Hiring Bank of America’s David Fishman
• Negative Sentiment: The SEC is reportedly investigating margin lending to hedge fund Situational Awareness after a 67% drawdown, with Bank of America among the subpoenaed banks. Potential legal, credit and reputational risks could pressure sentiment. SEC Probe Puts Wall Street Leverage Risk Back in Focus
• Negative Sentiment: BAC is challenging proposed changes to the Federal Reserve’s global systemically important bank capital surcharge. Higher capital requirements could constrain lending, reduce balance-sheet flexibility and pressure returns on equity. Bank of America Joins Clash Over Fed GSIB Capital Rule

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Bank of America from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Argus set a $70.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of America currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.08.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $62.38 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.90. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.12 and a 1-year high of $65.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $436.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The business’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.69%.

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.