Swiss National Bank Increases Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC – Get Rating) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 65,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $3,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.6% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,964,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $207,302,000 after purchasing an additional 21,712 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,218,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $168,312,000 after acquiring an additional 43,011 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 6.7% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,151,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,665,000 after acquiring an additional 72,066 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 690,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,109,000 after acquiring an additional 7,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.0% during the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 481,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,802,000 after acquiring an additional 4,567 shares in the last quarter. 76.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Down 3.2 %

WABC stock opened at $38.28 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $35.52 and a 52 week high of $63.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 0.61.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 4th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $72.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company Profile

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Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company. It provides range of banking services to individual and corporate customers in Northern and Central California. It offers loans and lines of credit, online services, mobile banking, checking, savings, credit cards, cash management, overdraft services, merchant services, professional banking, bank owned property, preventing business loans, payroll services, and trust services.