64,276 Shares in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 64,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,549,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter worth $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.08.

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Webster Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

WBS stock traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,887,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $57.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.