J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 23,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,298,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of America during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC grew its position in shares of Bank of America by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s internal research is being cited as bullish for the bank sector, with commentary that higher rates can still support net interest income even as the Fed holds rates steady, which could help BAC’s earnings outlook. Fed Holds Rates But Signals Hike: Key Takeaways for Bank Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also drew attention for its view that lower-income households may be stabilizing, suggesting the consumer backdrop could be improving and reducing recession fears that would hurt loan growth and credit quality. Miserable K-shaped economy might actually be fading, as lower-income families bounce back, says Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America revealed a roughly 3% indirect stake in Qiagen and reported similar holdings disclosures for Umicore; these are portfolio/ownership updates and are unlikely to have a direct impact on BAC’s core banking results. Bank of America Reveals 3.01% Indirect Stake in Qiagen Umicore – Transparency notifications by Bank of America Corporation
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that a Fed official spoke at a private Bank of America client dinner may attract headlines, but it appears more like a reputational/regulatory talking point than a direct earnings driver. The Fed’s vice chair of supervision spoke at a private dinner Bank of America hosted for clients hours after the central bank announced its latest policy decision
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America is facing fresh scrutiny tied to regulators’ upcoming “debanking” findings, which could create policy and compliance concerns for large banks like BAC. Bank Of America (BAC) Faces Fresh Scrutiny As Regulators Ready Debanking Findings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a report on Friday, April 24th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.54. 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 stock has a market cap of $399.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.75 and a fifty-two week high of $57.98.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.72%.

Bank of America Company 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.