Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 37,015 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,015 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Webster Financial worth $15,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Webster Financial by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.08.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS stock opened at $50.90 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

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.