Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 115,715 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 436.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 115,715 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $7,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WBS. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,114,000 after purchasing an additional 129,675 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 5.6% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,777,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,845,000 after purchasing an additional 93,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,253,000 after buying an additional 38,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.92.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction 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 $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Down 13.0 %

Shares of NYSE WBS traded down $6.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $44.80. The company had a trading volume of 596,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,313. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.66. The company has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 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.