Qsemble Capital Management LP Invests $436,000 in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Webster Financial by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,785,000 after purchasing an additional 430,331 shares during the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 14.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,217,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 14.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,696,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,133,000 after purchasing an additional 218,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 16.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,584,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,429,000 after acquiring an additional 220,942 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Webster Financial stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.99. The stock had a trading volume of 513,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,192,343. The company has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.57. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $36.36 and a one year high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 21.09%. The business had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Webster Financial’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

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.