Peak6 LLC Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Peak6 LLC bought 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 Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,342,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $120,497,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,114,000 after acquiring an additional 129,675 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,253,000 after acquiring an additional 38,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James reduced their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE WBS opened at $45.08 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for 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 firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

About Webster Financial

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.

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