State Street Corp Buys 5,774 Shares of Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR)

State Street Corp increased its position in Investar Holding Co. (NASDAQ:ISTR) by 5.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 108,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,774 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Investar were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ISTR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Investar by 14.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 251,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 31,589 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Investar by 5.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Investar by 111.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 48,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 25,330 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Investar by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 39,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 18,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Investar by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 30,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares during the last quarter. 50.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Investar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Investar Stock Performance

Shares of ISTR stock opened at $21.96 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.45. Investar Holding Co. has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $24.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.82 million, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.79.

Investar (NASDAQ:ISTR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.12. Investar had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 11.35%. The business had revenue of $40.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.07 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Investar Holding Co. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Investar Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.105 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Investar’s payout ratio is currently 23.46%.

Insider Activity at Investar

In other news, Director Scott G. Ginn bought 8,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.68 per share, with a total value of $200,688.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,688. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 8.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Investar Company 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.