Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes $951,000 Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $951,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter worth $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WBS traded down $0.27 on Thursday, reaching $52.03. 778,452 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,176,526. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.05 and a 200-day moving average of $54.41.

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Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.36.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.