Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Holdings Trimmed by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation by 51.0%, owning 10,327 shares worth $564,000 after selling 10,751 shares in the second quarter.
• Logistically, several institutional investors made significant adjustments, with Jones Financial Companies increasing its holdings by 29,356.4%, now owning 217,388 shares valued at approximately $11.2 million.
• The average target price for Webster Financial shares is $68.67, with thirteen analysts giving it a "Buy" rating, indicating strong market confidence.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 51.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,751 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Webster Financial by 7.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,408,000 after buying an additional 487,264 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $23,603,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 229.9% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 487,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,732,000 after purchasing an additional 339,950 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 29,356.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 217,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,206,000 after purchasing an additional 216,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 122.9% during the first quarter. Algebris UK Ltd now owns 372,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,784,000 after purchasing an additional 205,501 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WBS shares. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.67.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $59.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.46. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $995,921.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,830,168. This trade represents a 35.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $50,146.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 12,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $780,229.84. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial 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.

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