Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $5.02 Million Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,721 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Webster Financial worth $5,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 23,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $120,497,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 513,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,374,000 after purchasing an additional 63,926 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors increased its stake in Webster Financial by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 26,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.75. 1,891,967 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,242,549. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.58.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WBS. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.92.

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.