Cogent Private Wealth Inc. Purchases Shares of 11,801 Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Cogent Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Bank of America during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, HFM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 566.0% during the fourth quarter. HFM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. 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:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight Bank of America’s deposit franchise as a key structural advantage, supporting stable funding and long-term profitability. Bank of America’s Deposit Franchise Is the Hidden Asset Investors Keep Missing
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters-reported expectations for a 15% jump in second-quarter trading revenue suggest stronger near-term income, helped by market volatility and higher client activity. Bank of America (BAC) Expects Q2 Trading Revenue to Jump 15%, Reuters Reports
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Brian Moynihan’s recent comments that the company feels good about the near-term outlook and has raised its full-year net interest income outlook also added to sentiment. Bank of America’s Deposit Franchise Is the Hidden Asset Investors Keep Missing
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America Securities also hosted investor forums and conference coverage around hedge fund and quant-market activity, which reflects the firm’s strong capital-markets positioning but is not a direct earnings catalyst for BAC shares. BofA Securities Asia Forum Gathers Global Investors Amid Surge in Hedge Funds Allocations

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE:BAC opened at $51.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $365.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.36 and a 12-month high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $4,191,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 307,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,362,000. This trade represents a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total transaction of $2,491,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 227,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

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.