Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 24,417 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,404,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,417 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up approximately 0.6% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $187,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northstar Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $3,472,000. Polaris Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $428,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 27,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 10,863 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bank of America by 2,046.2% in the 4th quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in Bank of America by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 1,633,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,832,000 after acquiring an additional 215,510 shares during the last quarter. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Bank of America News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sector momentum: Financial stocks are broadly advancing this morning, which tends to lift large-cap banks like BAC as investors rotate into financials. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Advance Premarket Monday
• Positive Sentiment: “Big bank” safe-haven narrative: Coverage arguing the major banks are safer than private-credit funds has supported demand for systemically important banks, benefiting BAC relative to smaller credit providers. Private-credit crisis or growing pains? Why the ‘Big Six’ banks are a safer bet.
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA research product highlights AI winners — underscores the firm’s visible research franchise but has no direct earnings impact on BAC. These stocks are ‘the place to be’ if you want serious AI growth, says BofA
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA initiated coverage on ProPetro with a Buy — positive for BofA’s institutional-fee generation and research visibility, but indirect for BAC equity moves. ProPetro awarded ‘Buy’ rating in initial coverage from Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: Legal hit: Reports say BAC will pay about $72.5M to settle a lawsuit by victims of Jeffrey Epstein — a direct expense and reputational headwind that can pressure the stock. Bank of America to pay $72.5M to settle lawsuit by Epstein victims
• Negative Sentiment: Security/reputation risk: French authorities opened a terror probe after a failed attack near BAC’s Paris HQ — an operational/reputational risk that can add short-term uncertainty. France Opens Terror Probe After Failed Attack at Bank of America’s Paris HQ
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and market caution: Oppenheimer trimmed BAC’s price target, and a BofA technical analyst warned Q2 may be challenging for equities — both increase downside risk and could limit upside. Oppenheimer Cuts Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Price Target to $58.00 Bank of America has blunt message on stocks and bonds for Q2
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk: Middle East strikes and escalation concerns are raising market volatility broadly — a headwind for banks’ trading and loan books. Iran Strikes Spread as US Troop Buildup Spurs Escalation Concern

Insider Activity

In other Bank of America news, insider Thomas M. Scrivener sold 50,000 shares of Bank of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.82, for a total value of $2,491,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 227,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,357,614.86. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $4,191,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,362,000. The trade was a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 227,832 shares of company stock valued at $11,094,960 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $66.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Bank of America from $62.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.67.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAC opened at $47.20 on Tuesday. Bank of America Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.06 and a twelve month high of $57.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $50.91 and its 200 day moving average is $52.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $337.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.73 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.24%.

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.