Northern Trust Corp Acquires 329,267 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,528,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 329,267 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.89% of Webster Financial worth $84,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew 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 worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.74. 926,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,251,202. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $48.22 and its 200 day moving average is $54.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.