Maltese Capital Management LLC Has $14.48 Million Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Maltese Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 230,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,800 shares during the period. Webster Financial accounts for approximately 2.6% of Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $14,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,509,000 after acquiring an additional 107,335 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,359,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,567,000 after purchasing an additional 63,403 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Webster Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after acquiring an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,163,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,016,000 after purchasing an additional 18,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,035,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS opened at $74.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.66 and a 52-week high of $74.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.95%.The firm had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WBS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Santander downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.96.

Webster Financial Profile

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.