Covea Finance Acquires Shares of 471,700 Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)

Covea Finance acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 471,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,684,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 142,289,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,243,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,033,229 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Bank of America by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 122,437,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,381,126,000 after purchasing an additional 11,691,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Bank of America during the 4th quarter valued at $5,226,989,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Bank of America by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 88,210,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,876,853,000 after purchasing an additional 17,031,143 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Bank of America by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 67,935,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,985,785,000 after purchasing an additional 9,980,859 shares during the period. 70.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bank of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $45.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $342.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.30. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.07 and a 52-week high of $48.08.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.10. Bank of America had a net margin of 14.56% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The firm had revenue of $27.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.83 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAC. Cowen began coverage on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Bank of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Bank of America from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.69.

Bank of America Company 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.