4,218 Shares in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth $105,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.36.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $51.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.44. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

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. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

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.