State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Position in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,948 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.52% of Washington Trust Bancorp worth $2,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 200.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 312.5% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 23.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $32.00 price target on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Washington Trust Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:WASH opened at $35.94 on Friday. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.95 and a 12-month high of $37.08. The firm has a market cap of $684.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $59.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.38 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 9.83%. Research analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.96%.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, a community bank headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Through its subsidiary, the company operates a network of branch offices across Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut, serving individuals, small businesses and municipalities with a full suite of financial services.

The company’s core business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and cash management solutions.