Forum Financial Management LP Raises Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBS. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,007,000 after acquiring an additional 99,908 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000,000 after purchasing an additional 35,039 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $120,497,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,114,000 after purchasing an additional 129,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,253,000 after acquiring an additional 38,713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $44.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.40.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WBS. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.92.

About Webster Financial

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.