Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $14.74 Million in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 266,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,735,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of Webster Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 742.7% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on 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 dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.92.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of WBS traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,531,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,158. The company has a fifty day moving average of $49.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.30. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

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.