Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 4,053 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2,486.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,053 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $55.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.25. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock worth $1,271,123. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.08.

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.