Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock Position Raised by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,333 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $138,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted 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 worth $82,845,000 after purchasing an additional 93,929 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,253,000 after buying an additional 38,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.6% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 960,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,763,000 after buying an additional 107,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $51.57 on Monday. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.31. 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) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.08.

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.