Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Shares Sold by State Street Corp

State Street Corp lowered its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 1.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,286,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,519 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $63,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.8% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 27,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.5% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,124,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $52.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.46. 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 fifty-two week low of $43.82 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 32.06%.

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.