Ariel Investments LLC Sells 362,026 Shares of Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Ariel Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 43.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 477,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 362,026 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $22,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 25,143 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Bank of America by 90.4% during the first quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 8,530 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.4% in the first quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 17,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 10.0% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its holdings in Bank of America by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 25,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

BAC opened at $53.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $390.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.30. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.06 and a 52-week high of $54.83.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Bank of America’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of America’s payout ratio is currently 30.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Bank of America from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

Bank of America Profile

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.