Hsbc Holdings PLC Invests $1.76 Million in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 33,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,764,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.13% of Westamerica Bancorporation as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,505,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,898,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 875,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,919,000 after purchasing an additional 9,928 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 753,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,515,000 after purchasing an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.8% in 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 buying an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 74.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,467,000 after buying an additional 60,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Up 0.6 %

Westamerica Bancorporation stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $48.96. The stock had a trading volume of 12,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 129,677. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.56. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $42.00 and a 52 week high of $59.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $66.47 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. Analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from Westamerica Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of the company's 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total transaction of $34,193.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.