Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Stake in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its stake in shares of WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,090,076 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,419 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 1.34% of WaFd worth $35,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of WaFd by 112.7% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in WaFd by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in WaFd by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in WaFd by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in WaFd by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,762 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WaFd Price Performance

Shares of WaFd stock opened at $28.31 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.80. WaFd, Inc has a twelve month low of $25.79 and a twelve month high of $38.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.83.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from WaFd’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

WaFd 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.