Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Webster Financial by 3.8% in Q4, selling 644,962 shares and now holding 16,501,536 shares (about 10.23%) valued at roughly $1.04 billion.
• Webster beat quarterly expectations with $1.57 EPS (vs. $1.53 est.) and $764.05M revenue, and announced a $0.40 quarterly dividend (annual $1.60, ~2.2% yield; ex-dividend May 11).
• Institutional ownership stands at 85.58% with large repositions (Alyeska added ~2.0M shares), and analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target of about $73.96.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,501,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 644,962 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.23% of Webster Financial worth $1,038,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7,442.8% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $120,838,000 after buying an additional 2,005,985 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at about $75,465,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 221.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,483,000 after buying an additional 1,077,819 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 65.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,070,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,042,000 after buying an additional 817,218 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at about $44,254,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $72.23 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $48.37 and a one year high of $74.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.02.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $735.26 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Webster Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial cut Webster Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Santander cut shares of Webster Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Webster Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.96.

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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