Legato Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in Bank of America Corporation $BAC

Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 41,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAC. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Bank of America by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,629,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $254,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603,080 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 54.6% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after acquiring an additional 20,591 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the third quarter valued at $482,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Bank of America by 26.6% in the third quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 198,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,262,000 after acquiring an additional 41,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in Bank of America by 11.2% in the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 677,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,974,000 after acquiring an additional 68,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.71% of the company’s stock.

Bank of America Stock Performance

NYSE BAC opened at $51.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.65 and a 200-day moving average of $52.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $367.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.21. Bank of America Corporation has a 52-week low of $42.35 and a 52-week high of $57.55.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.11. Bank of America had a net margin of 16.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $30.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Bank of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Bank of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of America

In related news, insider Geoffrey S. Greener sold 126,756 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total transaction of $6,719,335.56. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,373,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,803,774.97. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 83,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $4,191,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 307,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,362,000. This represents a 21.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 354,588 shares of company stock valued at $17,814,296 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of Bank of America from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 price target on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Bank of America in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Bank of America from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Bank of America from $61.50 to $57.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.06.

Bank of America News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America hired veteran banker Richard Hardegree as Vice Chair of Mergers and Acquisitions, a move that could strengthen its dealmaking franchise and support future investment-banking revenue. Bank of America Corporation (BAC) Hires Richard Hardegree as Vice Chair of Mergers and Acquisitions
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted BAC’s loan growth, rising investment-banking fees, and AI-driven branch strategy as long-term positives that may help the stock recover despite this year’s pullback. BAC Slips 6.5% So Far This Year: Should You Still Buy the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett warned that mega-IPOs like SpaceX and OpenAI could create tech-market concentration risk, which is important for investors but does not directly change BAC’s fundamentals. BofA’s Hartnett Warns Mega-IPOs Risk Bubble Like Roaring ‘20s
• Neutral Sentiment: BofA also reinstated coverage of nuclear names with a Buy on Oklo and Neutral on NuScale, showing continued activity from the bank’s research team rather than a direct catalyst for BAC shares. BofA reinstates nuclear coverage with Buy on Oklo and Neutral on NuScale
• Negative Sentiment: CFRA downgraded Bank of America to Hold, adding a modest headwind as investors weigh valuation and near-term upside after the stock’s weaker year-to-date performance. CFRA downgrades Bank of America (BAC) to a Hold

About Bank of America

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.