Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 36.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 297,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 79,556 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Webster Financial worth $13,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 13.5% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,447,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,743,000 after acquiring an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1,482.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,801,000 after purchasing an additional 317,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth about $4,582,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.03. 708,200 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,807. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.00 and a 200 day moving average of $48.76.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $677.72 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $59.00.

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.