WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stake Lowered by Bill Few Associates Inc.

Bill Few Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 841 shares during the period. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth $116,114,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,934,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,313,000 after purchasing an additional 35,030 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in WesBanco by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,268,000 after buying an additional 32,879 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 25.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after buying an additional 142,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,917,000 after buying an additional 11,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WSBC shares. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.83.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WSBC opened at $31.74 on Thursday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. On average, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.81%.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services.