Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stock Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its Webster Financial position by 39% in the first quarter, selling 68,424 shares and retaining 106,897 shares valued at approximately $7.42 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.58% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $74.25. Four analysts rate the stock a Buy, 11 recommend Hold, and one rates it Sell.
• Webster Financial reported quarterly revenue of $769.23 million, exceeding estimates, while EPS of $1.60 narrowly missed forecasts. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, representing a 2.0% yield.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 68,424 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.07% of Webster Financial worth $7,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,509,000 after buying an additional 107,335 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $347,184,000 after acquiring an additional 156,636 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $330,207,000 after acquiring an additional 713,294 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $263,058,000 after acquiring an additional 16,676 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,035,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.25.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $78.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $75.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 1.01. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.69 and a fifty-two week high of $79.74.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $769.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.80 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.78% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 26.02%.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.

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