Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 234,526 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 158.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 234,526 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of Webster Financial worth $21,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,488,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,549,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 2.6% during 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. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.92.

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Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.24. 1,840,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,812. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $52.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.38. 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 (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.