T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 114,375 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 114,375 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.72% of Webster Financial worth $162,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th 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 raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 742.7% in the 4th 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 period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $47.50. 1,787,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,274,814. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.45. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.46 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.73.

Webster Financial Company 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.