Maltese Capital Management LLC Sells 38,800 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Maltese Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,800 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial comprises approximately 2.6% of Maltese Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned 0.14% of Webster Financial worth $14,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WBS. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 39.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Curi Capital LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 68,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,740,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 27.9% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WBS shares. Santander lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.6%

WBS opened at $74.35 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $72.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.66 and a twelve month high of $74.79. The firm has a market cap of $12.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.19%.

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.