Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $1.17 Million Position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS)

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 22,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Webster Financial by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Webster Financial by 171.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 166.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $55.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.09 and a 200 day moving average of $53.44. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $39.43 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.45%.

Webster Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total transaction of $196,007.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares in the company, valued at $950,184.05. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total value of $125,056.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 13,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,263.28. The trade was a 13.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $2,258,145. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial 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.

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