Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 710 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $1,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, One Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 5.4 %

NASDAQ WABC opened at $45.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.63. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $44.51 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.01. 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 (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.85%.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

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.