KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases New Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 34,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,114,000 after buying an additional 129,675 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 76,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 145,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,028,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 43,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE:WBS traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $50.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,299,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,610. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.68. 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 (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.36.

Webster Financial Company 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.