State Street Corp Increases Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

State Street Corp grew its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned about 4.27% of Webster Financial worth $341,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 340.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

WBS traded down $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.92. 842,911 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,237,931. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.58 and a 200 day moving average of $48.22.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The firm had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total value of $474,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 218,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,988,760.92. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.08.

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.