Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 6.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 139,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,190 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $6,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 11.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,904,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,421,000 after purchasing an additional 199,721 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 54.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 129,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,423,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,801,000 after buying an additional 41,841 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 735,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,352,000 after buying an additional 28,902 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 103.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 26,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WABC opened at $52.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.91 and a 200-day moving average of $51.79. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $43.82 and a 1 year high of $59.97.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.27. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 45.73% and a return on equity of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $74.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.74 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Westamerica Bancorporation 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.