Park National Corp OH Purchases 9,685 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Park National Corp OH grew its position in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 77,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,685 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $3,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BAC. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. DecisionMap Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its position in Bank of America by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 4,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Holistic Financial Partners increased its position in Bank of America by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 7,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 20,409 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of Bank of America by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 19,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Bank of America

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

Insider Activity at Bank of America

In other news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 1,373,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAC has been the topic of several research reports. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Autonomous Res lowered their target price on Bank of America from $62.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. HSBC increased their target price on Bank of America from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Bank of America from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.06.

Bank of America Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Bank of America stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $399.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.54. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $44.75 and a 52-week high of $57.98.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $30.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.72 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.45 EPS 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 given 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 2.0%. 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.