Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 4,279 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,279 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,093,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 4,498 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 2,486.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 4,053 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock worth $1,271,123. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $55.42 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.55. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business 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 posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

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 was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.