Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 168,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,371 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $8,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 103.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 26,871 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth $245,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 182.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,062,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other news, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $108,942.51. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at $562,974.87. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total transaction of $34,193.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Westamerica Bancorporation stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $47.97. The company had a trading volume of 148,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 136,418. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.24.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $66.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.47 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 44.55%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Westamerica Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Westamerica Bancorporation's payout ratio is 36.87%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company 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.