MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 8,026 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,026 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Webster Financial worth $5,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 742.7% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WBS stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.43. 149,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,809. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business 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 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.73.

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.