Bank of America Corporation $BAC Shares Purchased by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 610.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,173 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $2,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAC. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Bank of America by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 125,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 139.8% during the third quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 43,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 25,639 shares during the last quarter. Vilga Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vilga Financial Planning LLC now owns 10,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 11.4% during the third quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 43,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Analysts see potential net-interest-income upside. A recent rating upgrade argues that a Federal Reserve policy shift could improve Bank of America’s net interest income, a key revenue driver for the bank. Bank of America: Fed Policy Shift Creates NII Upside
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a $60 price target. The firm assigned a Hold rating, but its target implies meaningful potential upside from recent trading levels and provides a new valuation reference for BAC. TD Cowen initiates Bank of America coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating momentum remains supportive. Bank of America’s latest reported quarter exceeded consensus estimates, with adjusted EPS of $1.21 versus $1.13 expected and revenue of $31.56 billion versus $30.78 billion. Revenue increased 19.6% year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are awaiting the October 14 earnings report. Wall Street is assessing expected third-quarter revenue, EPS, net interest income and credit trends. The key risk is whether earnings growth is slowing from last year’s 36% pace to single-digit growth. Bank of America EPS growth expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America issued 5.10% senior unsecured notes due 2028. The transaction strengthens near-term funding flexibility, although its coupon also offers investors a market indication of the bank’s borrowing costs and credit risk. Why Bank of America is back in the spotlight
• Negative Sentiment: A $39 million Merrill cash-sweep settlement creates a modest legal and reputational headwind. The cost is unlikely to materially affect BAC’s earnings, but it adds to regulatory and litigation concerns. Bank of America Merrill cash sweep settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America’s chief strategist warned that a possible Democratic sweep of Congress could reduce risk appetite. The comments are a broad market warning rather than a company-specific development, but weaker investor risk appetite could weigh on financial stocks. BofA strategist warns of market risk

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Bank of America from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Bank of America from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $72.00 target price on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.22.

Bank of America Price Performance

Bank of America stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.12. 11,015,263 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,125,707. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.12 and a 1-year high of $65.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.25 and a 200 day moving average of $56.54. The company has a market capitalization of $378.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.36%.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its principal businesses include consumer banking, wealth and investment management, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and sales and trading.

Through its banking and financial services businesses, the company offers deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity products, consumer and business loans, payment services, treasury management, brokerage services and investment advice.