California State Teachers Retirement System Has $1.31 Million Holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $1,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WABC. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 26,871 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 182.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 144,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 139,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 0.2%

Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $48.63 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.63. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. The business had revenue of $66.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.47 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Westamerica Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WABC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total transaction of $34,193.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $108,942.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,591 shares in the company, valued at $562,974.87. This trade represents a 16.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

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.