Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 19,798 Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Creative Planning increased its position in Webster Financial by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 39,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 19.2% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 512,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,873,000 after buying an additional 82,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $55.69 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.48.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. 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 was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,271,123. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.