Pinebridge Investments L.P. Purchases 17,181 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,181 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 742.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

WBS traded up $0.58 on Thursday, hitting $47.88. The company had a trading volume of 214,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,335. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week 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 the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $704.80 million for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,017 shares of company stock worth $1,326,280 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.73.

Webster Financial Company 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.