SlateStone Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

SlateStone Wealth LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBSFree Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $50.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $65.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.17.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBSGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WBS. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.08.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Webster Financial

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS)

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