Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 498,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,328 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.29% of Webster Financial worth $27,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Webster Financial by 340.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 117.9% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 45.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.58.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,736,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,161,072. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $58.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687,532.71 billion. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.28%.

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.