Congress Asset Management Co. Has $7.32 Million Stock Position in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD)

Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in WaFd, Inc (NASDAQ:WAFD - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,039 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 15,938 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.28% of WaFd worth $7,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in WaFd by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,969,790 shares of the bank's stock valued at $138,347,000 after acquiring an additional 195,845 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WaFd by 10.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,759,135 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,318,000 after purchasing an additional 159,750 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of WaFd by 21.5% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,432,523 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,923,000 after purchasing an additional 253,044 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in WaFd by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,248 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,700,000 after purchasing an additional 84,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in WaFd during the 3rd quarter worth $18,583,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAFD shares. DA Davidson downgraded WaFd from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of WaFd in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of WaFd from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WaFd from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, WaFd presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.75.

WaFd Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WAFD stock traded down $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $29.86. The company had a trading volume of 387,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,150. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day moving average of $33.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. WaFd, Inc has a 12 month low of $25.78 and a 12 month high of $38.62.

WaFd Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from WaFd's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. WaFd's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.93%.

About WaFd

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.