Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 9,706 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,706 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WBS. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 759.8% during 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. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,496,000 after acquiring an additional 619,934 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,922,000 after purchasing an additional 281,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,735,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of WBS opened at $50.40 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. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.15. The firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the 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 approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WBS. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.