Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 5,311 Shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,747 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 5,311 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Waterstone Financial were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,773 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Waterstone Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,082 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 7,310 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Waterstone Financial by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,108 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 13,819 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Waterstone Financial by 242.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 14,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised Waterstone Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Waterstone Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ WSBF opened at $13.72 on Tuesday. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.60 and a 52 week high of $16.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $265.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.64.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 5.75%.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $526,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $689,307.93. The trade was a 43.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 14,928 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.80, for a total transaction of $206,006.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,076.40. This represents a 17.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Waterstone Financial Company Profile

Waterstone Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for WaterStone Bank SSB that provides various financial services to customers in southeastern Wisconsin, the United States. It operates in two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The Community Banking segment offers consumer and business banking products and services, such as deposit and transactional solutions, including checking accounts, online banking and bill pay services, money transfer services, as well as credit, debit, and pre-paid cards; investable funds solutions comprising savings, money market deposits, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, real estate financing, business loans, and business lines of credit; and fixed and variable annuities, insurance products, and trust and investment management accounts.