Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Holdings in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in WSFS Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WSFS) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,545,695 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 236,403 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 4.32% of WSFS Financial worth $135,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in WSFS Financial by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,283 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 21,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WSFS Financial by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of WSFS Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 31,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WSFS Financial by 2,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Rodger Levenson sold 7,199 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $397,384.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,881,456. This trade represents a 4.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

WSFS Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WSFS opened at $52.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.83. WSFS Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $41.33 and a 52-week high of $62.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.95.

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.13. WSFS Financial had a net margin of 18.77% and a return on equity of 10.30%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WSFS Financial Co. will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WSFS Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. WSFS Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WSFS. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of WSFS Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of WSFS Financial from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WSFS Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.75.

WSFS Financial Profile

WSFS Financial Corporation operates as the savings and loan holding company for the Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB that provides various banking services in the United States. It operates through three segments: WSFS Bank, Cash Connect, and Wealth Management. It offers various deposit products, including savings accounts, demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as accepts jumbo certificates of deposit from individuals, businesses, and municipalities.