Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Shares Bought by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,480,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 247,537 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial comprises about 3.8% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.92% of Webster Financial worth $93,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,509,000 after buying an additional 107,335 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,359,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,567,000 after purchasing an additional 63,403 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after purchasing an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.6% in 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $142,035,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Finally, Santander cut shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $73.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.58. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.66 and a 1 year high of $74.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

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