Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Position Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 654 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 327.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3,628.6% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Down 6.0%

WBS stock opened at $55.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $39.43 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.79.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 14,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total transaction of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $950,184.05. This trade represents a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.73.

Webster Financial Company 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.