Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 68.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Webster Financial by 327.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Webster Financial by 3,628.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,172.52. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,807 shares of company stock worth $698,527. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Webster Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.69.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock opened at $56.55 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.77. The firm has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.53, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 21.32%.The firm had revenue of $732.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.80%.

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.