Commerce Bank Buys Shares of 14,910 Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 14,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 246.8% during the 1st quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.25.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $77.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.37. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $52.69 and a twelve month high of $79.74.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $769.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.80 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.78%.Webster Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.02%.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.