Inceptionr LLC Purchases Shares of 10,459 Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock opened at $51.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.90. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released 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 firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial 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 sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.