Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stake Boosted by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 298.5% during the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 38,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 28,988 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 9.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 17,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $4,582,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 352.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 214,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,365,000 after buying an additional 167,400 shares during the period. Finally, Salzhauer Michael boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.0% during the second quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 39,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,708,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total value of $76,428.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $951,366.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $47.43 on Tuesday. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $36.36 and a one year high of $53.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $46.12 and a 200-day moving average of $45.61. The company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WBS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Webster Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.36.

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.