Cetera Investment Advisers Has $1.63 Million Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 402.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,683 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,049,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,169,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $155,997,000 after purchasing an additional 308,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 95,780 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

WBS traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.15. 637,134 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,268,615. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.30. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $36.36 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 32.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.36.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total value of $245,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,215,853.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.