Comerica Bank Acquires 4,295 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,295 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,528,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,402,000 after acquiring an additional 329,267 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,173,000 after buying an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $162,828,000 after purchasing an additional 114,375 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $48.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $48.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Webster Financial’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Webster Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $86,112.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,373.28. This represents a 7.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Profile

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.