Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) is Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s 3rd Largest Position

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,107,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 670,273 shares during the period. Webster Financial accounts for approximately 3.6% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned 0.65% of Webster Financial worth $61,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,549,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,883,000 after buying an additional 79,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.73.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS traded up $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 926,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,202. The company has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.30. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.