Sapient Capital LLC Acquires 24,533 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,138,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,533 shares during the period. Bank of America accounts for 0.9% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $61,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Bank of America by 21.3% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 40,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,218,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 9,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Bank of America by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dickmeyer Boyce Financial Management Inc. now owns 10,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of America by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Bank of America by 580.8% in the 3rd quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 96,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after buying an additional 82,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage of BAC with a “hold” rating and a $60 price target, implying approximately 12% upside from the referenced share price. While the rating is neutral, the target suggests the stock’s recent weakness may have created valuation support. TD Cowen Bank of America coverage
• Positive Sentiment: A recent analyst upgrade argues that a Federal Reserve policy shift could improve Bank of America’s net interest income, potentially providing earnings upside if funding costs and rate expectations become more favorable. Bank of America Fed policy analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America continues to promote artificial-intelligence initiatives designed to improve and personalize customer service. Successful deployment could support long-term efficiency and client retention, although the near-term financial benefit is uncertain. Bank of America AI customer experience
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on October 14 earnings, with coverage warning that EPS growth could slow from roughly 36% to single digits. The report will need to demonstrate solid revenue growth, resilient net interest income, and controlled expenses to justify the valuation. Bank of America EPS growth expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America reported changes in holdings of several outside companies, including reducing its Lakefront Biotherapeutics position below 10% and increasing its stake in ICU Venture Capital Trust to 3.6%. These appear to be portfolio or client-related transactions rather than material changes to BAC’s core business.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America agreed to a $39 million settlement related to Merrill’s cash-sweep program. The payment is not large relative to the bank’s scale, but it adds a legal and compliance cost and may renew investor scrutiny of Merrill’s practices. Bank of America Merrill cash sweep settlement

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.51. The company had a trading volume of 59,761,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,263,816. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.54. The company has a market capitalization of $374.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $46.12 and a 1-year high of $65.22.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $31.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.78 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 17.56% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Bank of America from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. HSBC began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.22.

About Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a diversified financial services company serving individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. Its principal businesses include consumer banking, wealth and investment management, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and sales and trading.

Through its banking and financial services businesses, the company offers deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, home equity products, consumer and business loans, payment services, treasury management, brokerage services and investment advice.