The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Position in WSFS Financial Corporation $WSFS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its WSFS Financial stake by 3.2% in the first quarter, selling 17,347 shares and retaining 530,175 shares worth approximately $34.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 88.49% of the company.
• WSFS reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $1.66 per share exceeding estimates of $1.50 and revenue of $284.7 million surpassing forecasts. Revenue increased 5.6% year over year, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $81.64.
• Company insiders sold shares, including the CEO’s sale of 65,446 shares and an executive vice president’s sale of 3,500 shares. WSFS also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.0%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in shares of WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 530,175 shares of the bank's stock after selling 17,347 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.02% of WSFS Financial worth $34,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSFS. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 102.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,347 shares of the bank's stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 5,240 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in WSFS Financial by 3.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,835 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 230.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 50,717 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial in the first quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 579.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 117,472 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,093,000 after acquiring an additional 100,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.49% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Shari Kruzinski sold 3,500 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $286,090.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,243,020.18. The trade was a 18.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 65,446 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.11, for a total value of $4,850,203.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 186,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,790,981.68. This trade represents a 26.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

WSFS Financial Trading Up 0.5%

WSFS opened at $80.20 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $76.00 and its 200-day moving average is $69.60. WSFS Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.92 and a 52-week high of $82.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.76.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $284.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.41 million. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 23.34% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Analysts expect that WSFS Financial Corporation will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. WSFS Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSFS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group set a $76.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.64.

WSFS Financial Profile

WSFS Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for WSFS Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The company traces its roots to the Safe Deposit & Trust Company, founded in 1832, and formally organized as WSFS Financial in the mid-1980s. Over its long history, WSFS has grown through a combination of organic expansion and selective acquisitions to serve a broad base of individual, commercial and institutional clients.

WSFS Bank offers a full suite of banking and financial services, including retail and commercial deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, real estate financing, and treasury management solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source