Inceptionr LLC Takes Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. M&G PLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,743,000 after buying an additional 17,746 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,467,000 after purchasing an additional 34,373 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.08.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.7 %

WBS stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,915,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.08. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) 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 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 company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued 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 dividend yield of 3.28%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 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.