TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 759.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 727,530 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $45,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&G PLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,743,000 after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 76,570.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 72,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 72,742 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $59.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.08. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.08.

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.