KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Shares in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 34,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Webster Financial by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,114,000 after buying an additional 129,675 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 76,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 145,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,028,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 43,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WBS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.36.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WBS opened at $52.03 on Friday. 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 $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.40. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.