KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 34,700 Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 34,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in 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 boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.36.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $52.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.40.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents 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 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.