Boston Partners Purchases 187,648 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS)

Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 38.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 673,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 187,648 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.40% of Webster Financial worth $34,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 166.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 11,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.77.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Webster Financial stock opened at $58.41 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.45%.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $153,025.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 18,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,156,195.69. The trade was a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock valued at $2,258,145 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Company 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.