Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,879 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.12% of WesBanco worth $42,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth about $116,114,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in WesBanco by 25.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after purchasing an additional 142,597 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in WesBanco by 2.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,917,000 after purchasing an additional 11,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in WesBanco by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after buying an additional 21,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $33.22 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.22. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.84. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 70.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.83.

WesBanco 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.