Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.88% of Webster Financial worth $83,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WBS. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Webster Financial by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

Webster Financial Stock Down 6.8 %

NYSE WBS opened at $47.66 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.08. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year 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 company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.