Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases New Position in VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new position in VersaBank (NASDAQ:VBNK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $307,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of VersaBank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VBNK. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of VersaBank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,224,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in VersaBank by 73.2% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,708,715 shares of the company's stock worth $37,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,620 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in VersaBank in the fourth quarter worth $5,886,000. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in VersaBank during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,588,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of VersaBank by 519.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 30,551 shares during the last quarter. 56.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VBNK. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating on shares of VersaBank in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Roth Mkm lowered VersaBank from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $10.40 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $10.40 target price on shares of VersaBank in a research note on Thursday, March 6th.

VersaBank Price Performance

NASDAQ:VBNK traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $11.04. 91,062 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 66,212. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.01. VersaBank has a 12-month low of $8.51 and a 12-month high of $18.38.

VersaBank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from VersaBank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. VersaBank's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.38%.

About VersaBank

VersaBank provides various banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It offers deposit products, such as web-based chequing accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, registered retirement savings plans, and tax-free savings accounts, as well as deposit insurance products. The company also provides lending services, including point of sale financing that covers purchasing loan and lease receivables from finance companies operating in various industries; commercial banking services comprising commercial real estate, public sector/infrastructure financing, and condominium financing; and residential mortgages.