Amundi Acquires 120,516 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Amundi increased its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 699.7% during Q1, owning approximately 137,740 shares worth $7.1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have a positive outlook for Webster Financial, with several firms upgrading their price targets, including Truist Financial raising it from $61 to $67 per share.
• Webster Financial recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, which reflects an annual dividend yield of 2.6%.

Amundi boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 699.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 137,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 120,516 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $7,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 305.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 278,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,358,000 after purchasing an additional 209,590 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 76,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $3,028,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,830,168. The trade was a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,900,582.40. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.9%

WBS traded down $1.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.45. 2,530,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,115,974. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.07. The company's fifty day moving average price is $59.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.70.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The business had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is 32.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WBS. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.00.

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.