Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Invests $2.35 Million in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 60,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,346,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 52.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after buying an additional 20,585 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in WesBanco by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 18,347 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 1,553.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,779,000 after purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 216,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 81,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,203.66. This represents a 25.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total transaction of $165,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,770.04. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,695 shares of company stock valued at $1,630,995. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC opened at $40.73 on Tuesday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.57 and a 1 year high of $43.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $40.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.74.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. As a group, analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Profile

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.