BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 586 Shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,304 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 586 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Bankwell Financial Group were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 655.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,560 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Bankwell Financial Group by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 11,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BWFG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Bankwell Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Bankwell Financial Group Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $35.13 on Wednesday. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.80 and a 12-month high of $36.00. The company has a market cap of $276.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.44.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.14. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 4.76% and a return on equity of 3.48%. The firm had revenue of $23.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.63 million.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.96%.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, Director Eric J. Dale bought 875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.42 per share, with a total value of $26,617.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 38,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,706.44. This trade represents a 2.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total transaction of $26,921.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,548 shares in the company, valued at $51,641.28. This represents a 34.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 19.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.