Bank of Montreal Can Increases Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 65.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,070,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 817,218 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 1.25% of Webster Financial worth $123,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,194,000. Fieldview Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 286,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,223 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 115.3% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 32,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,958,000 after acquiring an additional 17,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 461,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,427,000 after acquiring an additional 57,626 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Santander cut shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Raymond James Financial cut Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $68.77 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.90. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.03. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $74.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 22.67%.The company had revenue of $760.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 27.07%.

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.