Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Shares Acquired by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 52,399 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 1.25% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $17,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 144,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 26,871 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 37,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,669,000 after purchasing an additional 59,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,505,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,898,000 after purchasing an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 15,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 164,045. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 0.64. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $59.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.24 and a 200 day moving average of $51.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $66.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.47 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. On average, equities analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. This is a boost from Westamerica Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Westamerica Bancorporation's payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total value of $34,193.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total value of $108,942.51. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,591 shares in the company, valued at $562,974.87. This represents a 16.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.30% of the company's stock.

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.