Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Takes $1.39 Million Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 25,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,394,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WBS. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.92.

Webster Financial Trading Down 9.7 %

Shares of WBS stock traded down $4.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $42.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 924,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,514. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.44. 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 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 business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's 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.