Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 28,850 Shares of WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,831 shares of the bank's stock after selling 28,850 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of WSFS Financial worth $3,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WSFS Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,167,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in WSFS Financial by 819.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 254,616 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,528,000 after purchasing an additional 226,933 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WSFS Financial by 179.8% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 169,563 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,009,000 after purchasing an additional 108,968 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in WSFS Financial by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,030,372 shares of the bank's stock worth $154,519,000 after buying an additional 87,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in WSFS Financial by 110.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,397 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,139,000 after buying an additional 63,284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSFS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WSFS Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.75.

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WSFS Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSFS traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.36. 654,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,346. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. WSFS Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $41.33 and a 12 month high of $62.75.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.13. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 18.77%. On average, equities analysts expect that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WSFS Financial

In related news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $397,384.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,881,456. This trade represents a 4.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.29% of the company's stock.

About WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial Corporation operates as the savings and loan holding company for the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB that provides various banking services in the United States. It operates through three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect, and Wealth Management. It offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as accepts jumbo certificates of deposit from individuals, businesses, and municipalities.