54,783 Shares in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 54,783 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,766,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of WaFd at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of WaFd by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,923,000 after acquiring an additional 253,044 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in WaFd by 5.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,969,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $138,347,000 after purchasing an additional 195,845 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in WaFd by 10.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,318,000 after buying an additional 159,750 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 28.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 428,504 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,933,000 after buying an additional 95,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,700,000 after buying an additional 84,155 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAFD shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on WaFd from $37.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of WaFd from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.75.

WaFd Price Performance

WAFD opened at $28.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.72. WaFd, Inc has a 52-week low of $25.79 and a 52-week high of $38.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

WaFd Company Profile

WaFd, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Washington Federal Bank that provides lending, depository, insurance, and other banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including business and personal checking accounts, and term certificates of deposit, as well as money market accounts and passbook savings accounts.