Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 130.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,917 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,549,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 18,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 41,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 5,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 70,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,874,000 after acquiring an additional 15,627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.75.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Webster Financial
Webster Financial Stock Performance
NYSE WBS traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.79. 1,708,324 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,287,567. The business's 50 day moving average is $51.17 and its 200-day moving average is $52.91. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.
Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 18.58%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Webster Financial Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.
Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Webster Financial news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 7,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total transaction of $410,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,042,135.60. This represents a 28.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 20,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 sold 18,000 shares of company stock worth $934,210. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.
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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