T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Trims Position in Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.8%, selling 18,860 shares, leaving it with approximately 373,072 shares valued at $18.89 million.
• The company recently reported an EPS of $1.12 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, although its revenue fell short of expectations at $64.88 million.
• Westamerica Bancorporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 3.6%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 373,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,860 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 1.40% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $18,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,847,338 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,531,000 after purchasing an additional 86,850 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 875,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,919,000 after acquiring an additional 9,928 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,669,000 after acquiring an additional 59,325 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the 1st quarter worth $17,023,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 334,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,555,000 after purchasing an additional 52,399 shares during the period. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WABC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Down 0.1%

Westamerica Bancorporation stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.00. The company had a trading volume of 53,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,209. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.01. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $59.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.63.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 43.69%.The firm had revenue of $64.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is 38.49%.

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.