First Horizon Corp Acquires Shares of 296,225 Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH

First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 296,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,912,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,140,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,953,000 after buying an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 634,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,745,000 after buying an additional 74,145 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after acquiring an additional 8,938 shares during the period. Drexel Morgan & Co. raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Drexel Morgan & Co. now owns 300,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,889,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Washington Trust Bancorp by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 267,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,907,000 after acquiring an additional 36,937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ronald S. Ohsberg bought 1,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $31.00 per share, for a total transaction of $49,786.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 29,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,855. This represents a 5.72% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rolando A. Lora sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.55, for a total transaction of $27,921.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $356,262.60. The trade was a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 36,801 shares of company stock worth $1,147,293. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WASH shares. Wall Street Zen cut Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Washington Trust Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WASH opened at $35.61 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.15. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.23 and a 1 year high of $37.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $679.08 million, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.72.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $57.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.24 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 9.79%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

About Washington Trust Bancorp

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for The Washington Trust Company, a community bank headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Through its subsidiary, the company operates a network of branch offices across Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut, serving individuals, small businesses and municipalities with a full suite of financial services.

The company’s core business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and cash management solutions.