GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $61.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $61.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.03.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock worth $2,074,367 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.