National Pension Service Acquires 1,285,285 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,163,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,285,285 shares during the quarter. Bank of America makes up about 0.6% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. National Pension Service’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $834,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 640.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 46,516,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,399,798,000 after purchasing an additional 40,235,201 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $35,809,225,000 after purchasing an additional 23,351,183 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Bank of America by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 144,371,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,448,816,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275,810 shares during the period. American Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank of America by 1,248.5% in the 4th quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 15,224,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $837,338,000 after purchasing an additional 14,095,375 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Bank of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,863,000. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $50.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.32. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.36 and a fifty-two week high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.78%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is 27.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard A. Mensah sold 94,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.94, for a total value of $4,412,360.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 170,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,988,436.96. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock worth $17,814,296 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on BAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $58.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Bank of America from $70.00 to $61.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.06.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Brian Moynihan said Bank of America expects second-quarter trading revenue to rise about 15% year over year, pointing to continued strength in markets activity and a potential 17th straight quarter of trading growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also signaled solid Q2 support from investment banking and wealth-management fees, which could help offset pressure in other areas and support earnings momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Keynova Group ranked Bank of America among the top U.S. credit card issuers for online experience, reinforcing its strong digital banking franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said its Community Homeownership Commitment has delivered more than $15 billion in affordable home loans and grants, highlighting continued consumer lending and community-banking activity. Article Title

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.