21,903 Shares in Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Purchased by Northeast Financial Consultants Inc

Northeast Financial Consultants Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,903 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $682,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Bankwell Financial Group by 655.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group in the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 164.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,638 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,238 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,834 shares of the bank’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,969 shares in the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BWFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Bankwell Financial Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Bankwell Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Insider Activity at Bankwell Financial Group

In related news, EVP Steven H. Brunner sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.36, for a total value of $26,921.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,548 shares in the company, valued at $51,641.28. This trade represents a 34.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Eric J. Dale acquired 875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.42 per share, with a total value of $26,617.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 38,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,706.44. This trade represents a 2.31% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 19.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Bankwell Financial Group stock opened at $34.87 on Wednesday. Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.80 and a 12-month high of $35.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.66.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.63 million. Bankwell Financial Group had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 4.76%.

Bankwell Financial Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.96%.

Bankwell Financial Group Profile

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.