M&G Plc Increases Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 207,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC owned 0.12% of Webster Financial worth $9,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 156.5% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 58,602 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,859.1% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 14,891 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the first quarter worth $3,529,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 28.9% in the first quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 94,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,806,000 after buying an additional 21,245 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,696,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,133,000 after purchasing an additional 218,877 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WBS traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,490,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,259,992. The business's 50 day moving average is $48.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $38.54 and a 12-month high of $60.13.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,676,369.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,100 shares of company stock worth $1,202,237. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WBS. Wedbush raised their target price on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.85.

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.