Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $22,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Webster Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,509,000 after purchasing an additional 107,335 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,184,000 after purchasing an additional 156,636 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,207,000 after purchasing an additional 713,294 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after buying an additional 16,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $142,035,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $75.44 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $52.69 and a 52-week high of $77.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $739.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $755.80 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.78%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 26.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.04.

About Webster Financial

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.