Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 266,847 Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 266,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,735,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.16% of Webster Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $1,587,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,007,000 after buying an additional 99,908 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 158.5% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 382,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,120,000 after buying an additional 234,526 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WBS stock traded down $0.40 on Friday, hitting $47.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,787,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276,093. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50-day moving average is $49.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.33.

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 (EPS) 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 return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WBS shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.