Dean Investment Associates LLC Trims Stake in Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) by 53.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,176 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock after selling 56,919 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Waterstone Financial were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,441 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 2,055 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 24,187 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 3,363 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waterstone Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,773 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waterstone Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 462,234 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $6,795,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Waterstone Financial by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 24,213 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patrick S. Lawton sold 37,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $526,125.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $689,307.93. The trade was a 43.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen J. Schmidt sold 2,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.76, for a total value of $30,203.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,273.28. The trade was a 3.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,669 shares of company stock worth $929,283. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Waterstone Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 6th.

Waterstone Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Waterstone Financial stock opened at $12.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $235.32 million, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.48. Waterstone Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $10.83 and a one year high of $16.86.

Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter. Waterstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 9.23%.

Waterstone Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 8th. Waterstone Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.41%.

Waterstone Financial Company Profile

Waterstone Financial, Inc operates as a bank holding company for WaterStone Bank SSB that provides various financial services to customers in southeastern Wisconsin, the United States. It operates in two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The Community Banking segment offers consumer and business banking products and services, such as deposit and transactional solutions, including checking accounts, online banking and bill pay services, money transfer services, as well as credit, debit, and pre-paid cards; investable funds solutions comprising savings, money market deposits, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, real estate financing, business loans, and business lines of credit; and fixed and variable annuities, insurance products, and trust and investment management accounts.