First Eagle Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,462,000 after purchasing an additional 727,530 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Webster Financial by 182.7% in 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 buying an additional 619,934 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,163,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Webster Financial by 57.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,922,000 after acquiring an additional 281,686 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $50.40 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.15. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.