Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 10,900 Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 43.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 98,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,912,000 after buying an additional 29,964 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,554,000 after buying an additional 15,157 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 279.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 457,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,868,000 after acquiring an additional 336,714 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 46,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 22,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,835,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $58.77 on Wednesday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $44.93 and a 12-month high of $60.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.96.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $62.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.70 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 42.08% and a return on equity of 12.26%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Westamerica Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on WABC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other news, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.83, for a total transaction of $40,856.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ: WABC) is a California-based bank holding company that provides a comprehensive suite of commercial banking, trust and wealth management services. Through its primary subsidiary, Westamerica Bank, the company offers deposit products, lending solutions and treasury management to a diverse clientele that includes small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations and individuals.

The company’s lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, equipment financing and lines of credit designed to support working capital needs.