Amundi Grows Position in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 699.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 137,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 120,516 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $7,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 7.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,408,000 after purchasing an additional 487,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Webster Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $260,291,000 after purchasing an additional 153,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 0.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $237,025,000 after acquiring an additional 42,406 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,457,000 after buying an additional 48,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,547,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $140,658,000 after acquiring an additional 766,019 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total value of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,184.05. This represents a 17.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,445 shares of company stock worth $1,983,757. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $61.59 on Thursday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $59.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Webster Financial'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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

About Webster Financial

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.

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