WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Sold by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,452,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,216 shares during the quarter. WesBanco accounts for approximately 1.6% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $47,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,268,000 after acquiring an additional 32,879 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,148,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,712,000 after acquiring an additional 142,597 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in WesBanco by 3.0% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.7 %

WSBC stock opened at $31.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.79 and a 200-day moving average of $32.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.81%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSBC. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

WesBanco Company Profile

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.