Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 227,970 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,202 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in WSFS Financial were worth $12,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in WSFS Financial by 309.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,687,824 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,674,000 after buying an additional 1,276,078 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of WSFS Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,775,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WSFS Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $18,167,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in WSFS Financial by 819.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 254,616 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,528,000 after purchasing an additional 226,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WSFS Financial by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 169,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,009,000 after purchasing an additional 108,968 shares in the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WSFS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.75.

Insider Transactions at WSFS Financial

In other WSFS Financial news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $397,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,881,456. This represents a 4.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

WSFS Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

WSFS stock opened at $52.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.86. WSFS Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $41.33 and a 12 month high of $62.75.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.13. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 10.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. WSFS Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

About WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial Corporation operates as the savings and loan holding company for the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB that provides various banking services in the United States. It operates through three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect, and Wealth Management. It offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as accepts jumbo certificates of deposit from individuals, businesses, and municipalities.