Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 70,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,627 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,488,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 63.7% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,456 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 12.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 158,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,386,000 after purchasing an additional 17,020 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 57.6% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.67. The company had a trading volume of 491,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,413. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $51.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.42. 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 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBS. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.92.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction 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 owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% 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.