Polaris Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Polaris Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation by 5.4%, now owning 623,701 shares after selling 35,700 shares in the second quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Webster Financial, with Morgan Stanley raising their price target from $64.00 to $77.00 while maintaining an "underperform" rating, whereas Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an "overweight" rating and a target of $70.00.
• Webster Financial has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 2.7% dividend yield, with stockholders receiving the dividend on August 21st.

Polaris Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 623,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,700 shares during the period. Webster Financial makes up approximately 2.3% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned 0.37% of Webster Financial worth $34,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 7,543.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 156,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,057,000 after purchasing an additional 154,255 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 78.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.1% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 507,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,164,000 after purchasing an additional 10,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 228,800.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cowen initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.67.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:WBS opened at $59.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $995,921.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total value of $125,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,263.28. This represents a 13.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,537. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.

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