Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 60,620 Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.7%, now owning approximately 12.89% of the company, with a total worth of $174.4 million.
• Wall Street analysts have lowered their ratings on Westamerica Bancorporation, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it from "hold" to "sell" and a price target dropping from $55 to $54.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, representing an annualized yield of 3.8%, with a dividend payout ratio of 38.49%.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,444,875 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,620 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.89% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $174,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WABC. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $1,303,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $3,647,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 815.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,842,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WABC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WABC traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 254,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,532. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $59.97. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.63.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $64.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 43.69% and a return on equity of 13.81%. On average, equities analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation's payout ratio is presently 38.49%.

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.