Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Makes New $226,000 Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $120,497,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,163,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,464,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 1,491.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 485,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,838,000 after purchasing an additional 455,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.92.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $45.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.74 and its 200-day moving average is $54.27. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

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.