TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Acquires 727,530 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 759.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 823,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 727,530 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.48% of Webster Financial worth $45,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WBS. Creative Planning increased its position in Webster Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 39,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 2,815 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 24.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Webster Financial by 56,047.8% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 138,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,464,000 after buying an additional 138,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 76,570.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 72,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,395,000 after buying an additional 72,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,271,123 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.76. 908,543 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 954,342. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.58 and its 200-day moving average is $53.25. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 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 $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.