Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 14,200 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 33.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,200 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $578,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 959.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 358,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,297,000 after acquiring an additional 324,471 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the third quarter worth $1,991,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the second quarter worth $131,780,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at $1,786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBS. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group lowered Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.50.

Webster Financial Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $68.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $39.43 and a 52-week high of $74.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.49.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.07%.

Webster Financial Profile

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.