GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 981 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 22.3% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 50,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 122.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,022,000 after purchasing an additional 18,945 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $474,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.73.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS opened at $59.84 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.07. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $39.43 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.82 and a 200-day moving average of $54.27.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The business’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at $917,172.52. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.