First Eagle Investment Management LLC Invests $337,000 in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in 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 institutional investor purchased 6,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,462,000 after purchasing an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,496,000 after purchasing an additional 619,934 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,163,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,922,000 after purchasing an additional 281,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade 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.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $51.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,158,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,690. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.18. 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 $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.