American Century Companies Inc. Increases Position in Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,019,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 171,991 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 7.93% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $97,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WABC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 33.2% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 22,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 103.8% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 10,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 32.5% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 36,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 8,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,654,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WABC opened at $49.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.65. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $58.28.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.04. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 43.19% and a return on equity of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $63.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.20 million. Analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 40.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WABC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company 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.