WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 15.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,566 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,406 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in WaFd were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WAFD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in WaFd in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,583,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 31.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,274,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,430,000 after buying an additional 305,942 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 113.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 272,721 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,794,000 after buying an additional 144,920 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WaFd by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,902,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $229,408,000 after buying an additional 125,020 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WaFd by 28.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,933,000 after acquiring an additional 95,251 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WaFd Stock Performance

WaFd stock opened at $35.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.47. WaFd, Inc has a one year low of $25.78 and a one year high of $38.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50 and a beta of 0.83.

WaFd (NASDAQ:WAFD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.01. WaFd had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 9.44%. The company had revenue of $389.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $190.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WaFd, Inc will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WaFd Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WaFd

In other WaFd news, EVP Ryan Mauer sold 12,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.33, for a total transaction of $404,359.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,345,532.08. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WAFD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of WaFd in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of WaFd from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WaFd from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.00.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.