Swiss National Bank Buys 400 Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $2,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 735,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,352,000 after purchasing an additional 28,902 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 334,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,521,000 after purchasing an additional 22,902 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 worth $7,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 139,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 68.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 81,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 32,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

NASDAQ WABC opened at $50.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.27. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.02.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.85%.

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.