Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 208,586 Shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) by 91.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 436,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,586 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp were worth $12,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 38.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,757 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,119,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,545,000 after purchasing an additional 86,062 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 39.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 295,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,118,000 after purchasing an additional 83,311 shares during the period. 65.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WASH. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Washington Trust Bancorp from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Washington Trust Bancorp from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.33.

Washington Trust Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WASH opened at $28.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $539.64 million, a P/E ratio of -17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.95. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.95 and a 1-year high of $37.81.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.10. Washington Trust Bancorp had a negative net margin of 6.22% and a positive return on equity of 8.97%. The company had revenue of $56.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently -140.88%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Profile

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, of Westerly that provides various banking and financial services to individuals and businesses. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The Commercial Banking segment offers deposit accounts, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, NOW and savings accounts, money market and retirement deposit accounts, and time deposits; various commercial and retail lending products, such as commercial real estate loans, including commercial mortgages, and construction and development loans; commercial and industrial loans comprising working capital, equipment financing, and financing for other business-related purposes; residential real estate loans that consist of mortgage and homeowner construction loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines of credit, personal installment loans, and loans to individuals secured by general aviation aircraft.