Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 14,731 Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.6%, selling 14,731 shares and holding approximately 0.81% of the company, worth about $4.84 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.3%, now owning 1,119,395 shares valued at $34.55 million, while other institutional investors also significantly boosted their stakes during the last quarter.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.68 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, yielding about 7.4% for investors.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,731 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.81% of Washington Trust Bancorp worth $4,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Washington Trust Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 38.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. 65.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler cut shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.00.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.13. The stock had a trading volume of 21,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,653. The firm has a market cap of $577.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.94. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.95 and a 12 month high of $40.59. The business's 50-day moving average is $28.62 and its 200 day moving average is $28.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $54.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $54.07 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a negative net margin of 6.10% and a positive return on equity of 9.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently -148.34%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.