National Bank of Canada FI Buys Shares of 20,900 Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• The National Bank of Canada FI made a new investment in Webster Financial Corporation, acquiring 20,900 shares valued at approximately $1.08 million.
• Webster Financial recently reported $1.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.5%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, with a current yield of 2.8%, and announced a $700 million share repurchase program.

National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 327.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,169,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 6.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 8.2% in the first quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.6% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 296,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,300,000 after purchasing an additional 23,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded up $0.2660 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.1960. The company had a trading volume of 352,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,197. 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 current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $56.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.04.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million for 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%. Webster Financial's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 7,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total value of $410,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,042,135.60. This represents a 28.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,638 shares of company stock worth $2,721,745 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WBS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $60.00 price target on Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.77.

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.