Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 305.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 278,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 209,590 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.16% of Webster Financial worth $15,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Webster Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $365,601,000 after acquiring an additional 45,310 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000,000 after purchasing an additional 35,039 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,173,000 after buying an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $162,828,000 after acquiring an additional 114,375 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total transaction of $59,964.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,015,240.49. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $605,516. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.75.
Get Our Latest Research Report on WBS
Webster Financial Stock Performance
Shares of WBS stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $52.30. The company had a trading volume of 306,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,932. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $48.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.35.
Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Webster Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $700.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Webster Financial Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.
About Webster Financial
(
Free Report)
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.
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