Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Has $627,000 Stock Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 41.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,162 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Bank of America by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 45,411,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,497,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,809 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 5.1% in the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 523,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,987,000 after buying an additional 25,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,905,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,794,000 after buying an additional 71,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In other Bank of America news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $6,719,335.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This trade represents 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. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of BAC stock opened at $58.36 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $414.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a 12 month low of $44.75 and a 12 month high of $59.19.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BAC. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Bank of America from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus raised their price target on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC increased their target price 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, Autonomous Res lowered their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Trending Headlines about Bank of America

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

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.