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

SlateStone Wealth LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) 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:WBS) 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.

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

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.