Pzena Investment Management LLC Has $313.11 Million Stake in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,422,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,341 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 1.0% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $313,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew 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 buying an additional 1,603,080 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its position in Bank of America by 11.2% during the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 677,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,974,000 after acquiring an additional 68,093 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Bank of America by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,411,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,497,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487,809 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 5.1% during the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 523,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,987,000 after acquiring an additional 25,268 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,905,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,794,000 after purchasing an additional 71,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Bank of America Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of BAC opened at $58.36 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Bank of America Corporation has a one year low of $44.75 and a one year high of $59.19. The company has a market cap of $414.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 27.72%.

More Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive on Bank of America ahead of Q2 results, citing strong earnings expectations and raising price targets. Is Bank of America (BAC) the Most Undervalued American Stock to Invest In?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America is expected to deliver another solid quarter, with consensus calling for higher profit and revenue on July 14. Bank of America Likely To Report Higher Q2 Earnings; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Senate Democrats asked the Fed’s inspector general to review whether a Fed vice chair’s attendance at a private Bank of America client dinner broke rules; this is a reputational headline, but it does not appear to involve the bank’s operations directly. US Senator Warren calls for Fed watchdog review of Bowman’s BofA dinner, WSJ reports
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit was fined $7.5 million by the SEC over suspicious activity report failures, adding a modest regulatory overhang. Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit fined $7.5M by U.S. SEC

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.