Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF - Free Report) by 64.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,628 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,715 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.44% of Waterstone Financial worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 242.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,824 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 14,737 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 24,213 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waterstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 33.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,082 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 7,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Waterstone Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,773 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 3,705 shares during the period. 62.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waterstone Financial

In other news, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of Waterstone Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total value of $526,125.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $689,307.93. The trade was a 43.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $30,203.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,273.28. This represents a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,669 shares of company stock valued at $929,283 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waterstone Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Waterstone Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock remained flat at $12.20 during trading hours on Wednesday. 36,414 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 42,490. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.25 and a 1-year high of $16.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $235.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $13.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.89.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The savings and loans company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $29.67 million for the quarter.

Waterstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 8th. Waterstone Financial's payout ratio is presently 58.82%.

About Waterstone Financial

Waterstone Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for WaterStone Bank SSB that provides various financial services to customers in southeastern Wisconsin, the United States. It operates in two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The Community Banking segment offers consumer and business banking products and services, such as deposit and transactional solutions, including checking accounts, online banking and bill pay services, money transfer services, as well as credit, debit, and pre-paid cards; investable funds solutions comprising savings, money market deposits, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, real estate financing, business loans, and business lines of credit; and fixed and variable annuities, insurance products, and trust and investment management accounts.