Holocene Advisors LP Takes $8.06 Million Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 172,893 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,059,000. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.10% of Webster Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 1,859.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $684,000 after acquiring an additional 14,891 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 13.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 402.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,628,000 after acquiring an additional 25,683 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,743,000 after acquiring an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 in the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.35. 634,410 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,662. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $53.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.80.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Webster Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.62.

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.