FJ Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 21.9%, acquiring an additional 115,603 shares, bringing its total ownership to 643,988 shares.
• Webster Financial has recently seen value adjustments from several analysts, with price targets ranging from $65.00 to $77.00 after positive earnings results.
• Insider activity has also been notable, with two directors selling parts of their holdings, leading to a total of 38,445 shares sold worth $2,250,007 over the past three months.

FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 643,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial comprises approximately 3.4% of FJ Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. FJ Capital Management LLC owned about 0.38% of Webster Financial worth $33,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 327.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 171.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.77.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $62.88. The company had a trading volume of 885,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,169. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $39.43 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.81 and its 200-day moving average is $53.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total value of $50,146.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $780,229.84. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total transaction of $153,025.00. Following 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 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.