Northern Trust Corp Has $43 Million Position in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 809,334 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 9,542 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.37% of WSFS Financial worth $43,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,313,175 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,899,000 after acquiring an additional 19,895 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 309.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,687,824 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,674,000 after buying an additional 1,276,078 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 782,767 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,588,000 after purchasing an additional 11,414 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 740,584 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,347,000 after buying an additional 19,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in WSFS Financial in the 4th quarter worth $32,775,000. 88.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of WSFS Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $397,384.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,881,456. This trade represents a 4.80 % 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 the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WSFS Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of WSFS Financial stock traded down $0.56 on Friday, reaching $53.35. 299,322 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 296,821. WSFS Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $42.21 and a 1-year high of $62.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $50.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.74.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.09. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 18.77%. The company had revenue of $256.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.44 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

WSFS Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from WSFS Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. WSFS Financial's payout ratio is currently 15.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on WSFS Financial from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WSFS Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.75.

About WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial Corporation operates as the savings and loan holding company for the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB that provides various banking services in the United States. It operates through three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect, and Wealth Management. It offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as accepts jumbo certificates of deposit from individuals, businesses, and municipalities.