Pinebridge Investments L.P. Purchases 17,181 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 42.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,181 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 161,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,915,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 115.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 21,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,433 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 96,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 8,026 shares during the period. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 71,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WBS traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $47.64. 1,127,562 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,225. The firm's fifty day moving average is $49.28 and its 200-day moving average is $54.45. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price target on Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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 eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.73.

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.