Leeward Investments LLC MA Purchases Shares of 168,675 Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Leeward Investments LLC MA purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 168,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,515,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned approximately 0.63% of Westamerica Bancorporation at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WABC. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 198.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 6,449 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.3% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 37.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 33,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 8,931 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 44.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 268,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,302,792.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 268,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,302,792.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total transaction of $527,416.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,342,691.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,372 shares of company stock valued at $1,074,481. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WABC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $57.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

WABC stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, hitting $47.44. 151,506 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,636. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $35.52 and a twelve month high of $57.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.56.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.02). Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 48.35%. The company had revenue of $78.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.34 million. Equities research analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.