Duality Advisers LP Buys New Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 67,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,412,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Webster Financial by 17.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Webster Financial by 49.0% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 3,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,330,658. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,941 shares of company stock worth $1,545,582 over the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $47.17 on Tuesday. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $31.03 and a one year high of $53.39. The company has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.46.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The business had revenue of $996.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.72%.

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.