Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 4,279 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,279 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. M&G PLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,467,000 after purchasing an additional 34,373 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,717 shares of company stock worth $1,271,123 over the last three months. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $55.42 on Wednesday. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research 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. 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 yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.