Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.
Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 742.7% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $86,112.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,373.28. This represents a 7.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lauren States sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.80, for a total value of $111,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $742,696. This represents a 13.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,200 shares of company stock worth $257,836 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.75.
View Our Latest Report on WBS
Webster Financial Price Performance
Shares of WBS traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $51.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,128,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,736. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $48.49 and a 200 day moving average of $54.29. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99.
Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.
Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Webster Financial Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.
Webster Financial Profile
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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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