Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 693,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 131,424 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp were worth $23,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WASH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 73.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 18,735 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Washington Trust Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $9,912,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 181.6% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 18,448 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $808,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Seaport Research Partners lowered Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Down 1.0%

Washington Trust Bancorp stock opened at $39.07 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.23 and a 12 month high of $40.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $745.06 million, a P/E ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.30.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $60.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.91 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.24% and a net margin of 14.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, a community bank headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Through its subsidiary, the company operates a network of branch offices across Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut, serving individuals, small businesses and municipalities with a full suite of financial services.

The company’s core business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and cash management solutions.