Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 18,367 Shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,367 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management owned about 0.40% of Investar worth $757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in Investar by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 214,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 57,178 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Investar by 14.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Investar in the first quarter worth $504,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Investar by 111.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 25,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Investar during the 2nd quarter valued at $329,000. 50.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Investar Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ISTR opened at $19.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.01 million, a P/E ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.85. Investar Holding Co. has a 52-week low of $9.07 and a 52-week high of $19.99.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $38.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 million. Investar had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 10.04%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Investar Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.105 per share. This is an increase from Investar’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Investar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Investar Profile

Investar Holding Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Investar Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in south Louisiana, southeast Texas, and Alabama in the United States. The company offers various deposit products and services, such as savings, checking, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as various certificates of deposit; debit and credit cards; internet, mobile, and video banking services; and reciprocal deposit products.