Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Takes $226,000 Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 71,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,601,000 after purchasing an additional 45,310 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 674,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,222,000 after purchasing an additional 278,545 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Webster Financial by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 35,039 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WBS. Barclays decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.92.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $45.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.27.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.