American Century Companies Inc. Sells 345,173 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 58.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 243,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 345,173 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.25% of WesBanco worth $7,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,002,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,724,000 after acquiring an additional 111,394 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in WesBanco by 6.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 142,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,521,000 after purchasing an additional 9,166 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.2% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 4.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 107,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 6.0% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 55,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,137 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total value of $25,094.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 52,921 shares of company stock worth $1,339,995. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC opened at $32.68 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month high of $37.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.91%.The firm had revenue of $261.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 75.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.17.

WesBanco Profile

WesBanco, Inc operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services.