Maverick Capital Ltd. Purchases 1,223 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,524,000 after buying an additional 13,487 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 11.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,874,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,377,000 after acquiring an additional 191,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,833,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,934,000 after acquiring an additional 137,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,460.90. This trade represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. StockNews.com lowered Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $61.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.93 and a 200-day moving average of $47.59.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

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.