AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 126,384 Shares of Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northwest Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWBI - Free Report) by 710.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,163 shares of the savings and loans company's stock after purchasing an additional 126,384 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Northwest Bancshares worth $1,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Northwest Bancshares by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 279,966 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 19,427 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of Northwest Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $140,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northwest Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Northwest Bancshares by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 31,238 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 2,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Northwest Bancshares by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 19,203 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. 66.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO William W. Harvey sold 13,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.18, for a total value of $193,046.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 208,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,953,722.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO William W. Harvey sold 13,614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.18, for a total value of $193,046.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 208,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,953,722.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Meegan sold 7,200 shares of Northwest Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total value of $101,952.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 76,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,080,747.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northwest Bancshares Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NWBI traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $12.90. 551,156 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 725,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.80 and a 52 week high of $14.55. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.08.

Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The savings and loans company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.04. Northwest Bancshares had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 8.72%. The business had revenue of $97.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.77 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Northwest Bancshares, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northwest Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Northwest Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

About Northwest Bancshares

Northwest Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and business banking solutions. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts.