155,428 Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC Bought by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 155,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,856,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of America by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 651,076,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,809,225,000 after acquiring an additional 23,351,183 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,774,210,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Bank of America by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 57,619,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,169,062,000 after purchasing an additional 2,929,779 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 53,783,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,958,110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,833 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Bank of America by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,172,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,594,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,611,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $63.00 target price on shares of Bank of America and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Bank of America from $61.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.08.

More Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America’s active participation in the August bond market demonstrates continued access to wholesale funding and allows it to extend maturities through senior unsecured offerings. Its latest quarterly results also showed strong earnings and revenue growth, providing a fundamental counterweight to near-term concerns. Bank of America’s Stock Market Signal Flashes Warning
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America increased its indirect stake in Turkish industrial technology company Hidropar to 5.386%. The disclosure indicates portfolio or client-related investment activity, but it is not expected to materially affect BAC’s earnings. Bank of America Lifts Indirect Stake in Hidropar to 5.386%
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America crossed a disclosure threshold in Smith & Nephew, reflecting an updated shareholding. The move is unlikely to have a meaningful direct impact on BAC’s common stock. Smith & Nephew Discloses Updated Bank of America Shareholding
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America’s analysts issued views on HP, Home Depot and Nvidia. These calls may generate research-related attention, but they do not materially change BAC’s own fundamentals. Bank of America Sends Warning on HP Stock
• Negative Sentiment: A market commentary warns that crowded positioning in Bank of America could make any broader-market pullback sharper. Separate analysis questions whether BAC is undervalued after its recent bond issuance, while noting recent short-term share-price weakness. These factors are weighing on sentiment despite the bank’s solid earnings profile. Bank of America’s Stock Market Signal Flashes Warning Is Bank of America Undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Analysis of Bank of America preferred stock suggests that more attractive alternatives may exist than Series GG. While this primarily affects preferred securities, it can modestly temper sentiment toward BAC’s capital-raising instruments. Bank of America Preferreds: Better Propositions Available Than Series GG

Bank of America Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $61.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.67. The firm has a market cap of $431.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $46.12 and a 52-week high of $65.22.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.08. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 17.56%.The firm had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This is an increase from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 25.69%.

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.