Duality Advisers LP Invests $3.41 Million in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 67,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,412,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,278,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,556,000 after buying an additional 21,026 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 98.1% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 149,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,576,000 after buying an additional 73,924 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 58.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 319,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,874,000 after acquiring an additional 117,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 83,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after acquiring an additional 11,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $204,486.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,528 shares in the company, valued at $2,553,663.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,132.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,941 shares of company stock worth $1,545,582 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays began coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $47.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $31.03 and a one year high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.46.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $996.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $674.82 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 22.01%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.72%.

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.