Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 696,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 133,771 shares during the quarter. Bank of America accounts for 0.8% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $38,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake 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 valued at $254,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603,080 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 198,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,262,000 after purchasing an additional 41,809 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 677,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,974,000 after purchasing an additional 68,093 shares during the last quarter. Constant Guidance Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 603.4% during the third quarter. Constant Guidance Financial LLC now owns 24,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 20,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,629,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is leaning further into AI to strengthen its dominant muni underwriting franchise, which could help defend and expand a business line that already leads the market. Bank of America Eyes AI to Defend $46 Billion Muni Lead
• Positive Sentiment: The bank reportedly scored an early win in a dispute over First Brands’ inventory proceeds, which may improve its recovery prospects and reduce legal uncertainty. Bank of America gets early win in dispute over First Brands’ inventory proceeds – report
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces highlight supportive themes for BAC, including high cash flow, strong dividend appeal, and investor interest in the stock after its multi-year run. Bank of America (BAC) – Among the 12 Stocks From Companies Generating High Cash Flow
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and strategists are broadly focused on the Fed’s “higher-for-longer” setup: that can support net interest income for banks like BAC, but it also raises funding-cost, credit, and securities-market risks. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s own rates team warned that a new Fed chair could bring bond-market volatility, which is more of a market backdrop issue than a direct fundamental hit to BAC. BofA Rates Strategist: New Fed Chair Warsh Is a Bond Market Stranger, Volatility Ahead
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh regulatory scrutiny as authorities prepare debanking findings, adding headline risk and raising the chance of policy pressure. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $57.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Bank of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reduced their price target on Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HSBC raised their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.06.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. Bank of America Corporation has a 1 year low of $44.75 and a 1 year high of $57.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.51. The company has a market cap of $399.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 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.