Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Acquired by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $4,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WBS. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $86,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,373.28. This represents a 7.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,217 shares of company stock valued at $1,386,244. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WBS. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.58.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $52.92 on Monday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99. 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 cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $48.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.35.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.