Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.28% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $3,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WABC. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 52,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC opened at $47.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 0.63. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $66.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.47 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 44.55%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WABC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Westamerica Bancorporation Profile

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for the Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers. The company accepts various deposit products, including retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.