Eastern Bank Raises Holdings in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,363,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,686 shares during the quarter. Bank of America comprises approximately 1.2% of Eastern Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Bank of America were worth $70,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Bank of America by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 108,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 25,143 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 4.3% during the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 13,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its position in Bank of America by 10.1% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 17,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Advocates LLC now owns 9,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Bank of America by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 9,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights BAC’s history of earnings surprises and argues the bank has the key drivers (trading/markets strength, stable net interest income) to again beat consensus in the upcoming quarter. Why Bank of America (BAC) Could Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest in BAC dropped materially in December (about a 21% decline vs mid‑December), reducing a potential short‑squeeze overhang and signaling fewer bearish positions against the stock. (Internal short‑interest report)
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America research argues AI-driven bond issuance could create a major capital‑markets opportunity (WSJ: “AI bond sales could hit $300B a year”), which would support IB fee revenue if BofA captures market share. AI Bond Sales Could Hit $300 Billion a Year, Bank of America Says
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage (Jim Cramer commentary) portrays BAC’s valuation as conservative versus fundamentals, supporting a narrative that upside exists if execution continues. Bank of America (BAC)’s Multiple is An Insult to Its CEO, Says Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets are positioning ahead of BAC’s Q4 print — some small forecast adjustments and preview pieces highlight trading strength and stable NII but await management guidance for 2026. This keeps volatility around the print likely but doesn’t move fundamentals yet. Bank of America Gears Up For Q4 Print; Here Are The Recent Forecast Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces note U.S. banks entered the earnings season on firmer footing after 2025 — a supportive macro backdrop that reduces tail‑risk but still leaves company-specific execution as the main driver. Banks Enter Earnings Season on Firmer Footing, Though Risks Linger
• Negative Sentiment: Political headlines from former President Trump proposing a 10% cap on credit‑card APRs triggered a sectorwide selloff; Reuters reports banks are warning such a cap would shrink credit access and hurt margins — a direct revenue risk for BAC’s consumer card business. Banks warn consumers will be hurt by Trump’s 10% cap on credit card interest rates
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage (Investopedia and others) shows bank stocks tumbling on the regulatory headlines and investor uncertainty, which likely explains much of BAC’s down move today despite company‑specific positives. Big Bank Stocks Tumbled After Trump Said This

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, January 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Bank of America from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Bank of America from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Bank of America from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on Bank of America in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.82.

Bank of America Stock Down 1.3%

BAC opened at $54.47 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.29. Bank of America Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.06 and a fifty-two week high of $57.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.13. Bank of America had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.70%.The firm had revenue of $5.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.52%.

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.