First Eagle Investment Management LLC Buys 20,493 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 227,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,493 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $14,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 11,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 4,070 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $181,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 4,046 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,726,000 after acquiring an additional 356,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WBS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group began 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. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $72.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.81 and a 1 year high of $74.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.50 and its 200-day moving average is $66.00.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Webster Financial Company 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.