Swiss National Bank Sells 8,500 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Webster Financial worth $22,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 246.8% in the 1st quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.04.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $75.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.33. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.69 and a 12-month high of $77.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business had revenue of $739.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $755.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.19%.

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.