Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 42,406 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 0.9%, acquiring an additional 42,406 shares, bringing its total ownership to 4,597,943 shares valued at $237 million.
• Webster Financial's stock price rose by 5.6% following the company's quarterly earnings report, which exceeded analysts' estimates with $1.52 earnings per share.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 32.45%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 42,406 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 2.73% of Webster Financial worth $237,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,408,000 after buying an additional 487,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $260,291,000 after buying an additional 153,236 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,173,000 after buying an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,457,000 after purchasing an additional 48,942 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,641,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $145,878,000 after purchasing an additional 99,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 5.6%

WBS stock opened at $61.4160 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $57.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.27. 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 company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.04.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors 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 yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is 32.45%.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 7,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total transaction of $410,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,042,135.60. The trade was a 28.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,438 shares of company stock worth $2,609,985 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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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