Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS - Free Report) by 44.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,000 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in WSFS Financial were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in WSFS Financial by 819.8% in the 4th 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. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of WSFS Financial by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,030,372 shares of the bank's stock valued at $154,519,000 after buying an additional 87,781 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in WSFS Financial by 110.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 120,397 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,139,000 after acquiring an additional 63,284 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in WSFS Financial by 247.4% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 78,168 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,986,000 after acquiring an additional 55,668 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in WSFS Financial by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 267,028 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,187,000 after acquiring an additional 47,028 shares during the last quarter. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of WSFS Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WSFS Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.75.

WSFS Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WSFS stock traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.54. 438,269 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 265,233. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.86. WSFS Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $40.99 and a 1 year high of $62.75. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50 day moving average is $54.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.06.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.13. WSFS Financial had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 18.77%. Equities research analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. WSFS Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $397,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 142,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,881,456. This trade represents a 4.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.