Ieq Capital LLC Invests $1.09 Million in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Ieq Capital LLC acquired 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 disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter worth about $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,368,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 942,249. 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 one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.58. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.