New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $6.78 Million Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,605 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.50% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $6,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WABC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4,946.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 109,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,534,000 after acquiring an additional 107,144 shares during the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,437,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $3,647,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth $3,564,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,467,000 after purchasing an additional 60,871 shares in the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WABC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC opened at $50.14 on Monday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $59.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.46. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.64.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 43.69% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The firm had revenue of $64.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Westamerica Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 38.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $108,942.51. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $562,974.87. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total transaction of $34,193.60. 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.