Sei Investments Co. Raises Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 129,675 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 1.15% of Webster Financial worth $109,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 78,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after buying an additional 5,993 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Webster Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 100,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,684,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 34,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $51.57 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.25.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly 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 during 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WBS shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.