Compound Planning Inc. Takes Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Compound Planning Inc. has acquired 4,057 shares of Webster Financial Corporation, valued at approximately $209,000, during the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors LP and Invesco Ltd., have also increased their stakes in Webster Financial, with the majority of the stock (85.58%) currently owned by such investors.
• Webster Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share and has a share buyback program approved for $700 million to repurchase outstanding shares.

Compound Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Webster Financial by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Webster Financial by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Webster Financial by 171.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WBS. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.77.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.24. 928,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,114,863. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.28 and its 200 day moving average is $53.30.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.Webster Financial's quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is 32.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $995,921.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,830,168. This trade represents a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $153,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 18,889 shares in the company, valued at $1,156,195.69. This trade represents a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,250,007 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.