Royce & Associates LP Increases Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 43.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,286 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $1,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WABC. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 735,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,352,000 after acquiring an additional 28,902 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $16,521,000 after purchasing an additional 22,902 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 144,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,600,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.0% in 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 buying an additional 4,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 68.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 81,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,026,000 after buying an additional 32,981 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WABC opened at $51.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.00. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $45.11 and a 52 week high of $59.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.55.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.85%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company 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.