KBC Group NV Acquires 54,354 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 222.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 54,354 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $4,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 94,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in Webster Financial by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 360,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,913,000 after purchasing an additional 60,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total value of $474,640.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 218,924 shares in the company, valued at $12,988,760.92. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,287 shares of company stock worth $1,485,050 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS stock opened at $60.19 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.95.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WBS. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.08.

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.