Westwood Holdings Group (NYSE:WHG) Director Sells 4,481 Shares

Westwood Holdings Group Inc (NYSE:WHG) Director Susan Byrne sold 4,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.88, for a total transaction of $89,082.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 230,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,581,226.72. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Westwood Holdings Group Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WHG traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, hitting $20.34. The company had a trading volume of 20,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,413. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.15. Westwood Holdings Group Inc has a 1 year low of $14.70 and a 1 year high of $20.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 0.57.

Westwood Holdings Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Westwood Holdings Group’s payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westwood Holdings Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Peapod Lane Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Peapod Lane Capital LLC now owns 88,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. lifted its stake in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. now owns 11,192 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westwood Holdings Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 163,166 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,808,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Westwood Holdings Group by 1.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 55,856 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Westwood Holdings Group by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 12,396 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. 56.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WHG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westwood Holdings Group to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Westwood Holdings Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Westwood Holdings Group has an average rating of “Buy”.

Westwood Holdings Group Company Profile

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc is an independent, publicly traded asset management firm founded in 1983 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the company offers a range of investment advisory services tailored to institutional, retail, and high-net-worth clients. Westwood’s disciplined, value-oriented approach guides its research process across equity and fixed-income markets, with an emphasis on fundamental analysis and long-term risk management.

The firm’s product lineup includes U.S.