Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock Holdings Increased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 436.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,715 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $7,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 70,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,874,000 after acquiring an additional 15,627 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $951,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $1,916,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 76,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,238,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.9 %

WBS stock opened at $51.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $55.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.51. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.