Curran Financial Partners LLC Sells 731 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Curran Financial Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $116,114,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,934,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,313,000 after buying an additional 35,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in WesBanco by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,268,000 after buying an additional 32,879 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in WesBanco by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after buying an additional 142,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in WesBanco by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 11,987 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WesBanco Stock Up 2.2 %

WSBC opened at $34.16 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.15. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, equities analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James upgraded WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy 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 $38.67.

About WesBanco

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.