54,027 Shares in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 54,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,983,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $41.75 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.67. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WBS. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.92.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.