Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 266,847 Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 266,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,735,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value 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 represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $50.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Webster Financial 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.