M&G Plc Buys Shares of 189,551 Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 189,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,340,000. M&G Plc owned approximately 0.11% of Webster Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $910,117,000 after purchasing an additional 54,841 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,237,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $316,678,000 after buying an additional 95,780 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $198,785,000 after buying an additional 430,331 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 11.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,997,000 after buying an additional 308,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,000,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $101,520,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WBS. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Webster Financial from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total transaction of $76,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WBS stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 670,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,672. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $44.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.98. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $36.36 and a 12-month high of $53.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 19.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $671.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.79%.

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.