Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 337,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of Webster Financial worth $18,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 759.8% during 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 buying an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,496,000 after buying an additional 619,934 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,163,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after buying an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Webster Financial by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,922,000 after buying an additional 281,686 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $50.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Webster Financial 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.