R Squared Ltd Invests $43,000 in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,743,000 after acquiring an additional 17,746 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Webster Bank N. A. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 100.9% during the 3rd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 56,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 28,393 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,761,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 76,570.5% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 72,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 72,742 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $60.09 on Monday. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.98 and a 200-day moving average of $52.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total transaction of $474,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 218,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,988,760.92. The trade was a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,287 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,050 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.