Aviva PLC Invests $529,000 in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Aviva PLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $529,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3,628.6% during the second 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. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WBS. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.85.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,172.52. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $50,146.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,229.84. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,807 shares of company stock worth $234,927 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.5%

WBS opened at $56.70 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $39.43 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 21.32%.The business had revenue of $756.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.80%.

About Webster Financial

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.