SlateStone Wealth LLC Purchases New Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

SlateStone Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 759.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 182.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,496,000 after purchasing an additional 619,934 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,163,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Webster Financial by 57.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,922,000 after acquiring an additional 281,686 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

WBS stock opened at $50.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.55 and its 200 day moving average is $54.17. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $65.77.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.