183,998 Shares in Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. $WASH Purchased by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:WASH) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 183,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,712,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WASH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Washington Trust Bancorp by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Washington Trust Bancorp by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Washington Trust Bancorp during the second quarter worth $409,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Washington Trust Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 304,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 8,938 shares during the last quarter. 65.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WASH shares. Wall Street Zen raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research raised Washington Trust Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Washington Trust Bancorp from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of WASH opened at $39.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $757.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.99. Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.23 and a 1 year high of $40.50.

Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $60.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.91 million. Washington Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 10.18%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Washington Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Washington Trust Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.78%.

Washington Trust Bancorp Company Profile

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.