MQS Management LLC Has $313,000 Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

MQS Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 39.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,117,000 after purchasing an additional 54,841 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Webster Financial by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,785,000 after buying an additional 430,331 shares during the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Webster Financial by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,520,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $97,217,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Webster Financial by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,696,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,133,000 after buying an additional 218,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total value of $102,144.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,285,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $384,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total transaction of $102,144.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,446.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WBS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.73.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Webster Financial stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.01. The company had a trading volume of 210,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,840. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $36.36 and a one year high of $53.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.87 and a 200 day moving average of $46.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 19.81%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

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.