Prudential Financial Inc. Has $7.85 Million Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 436.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 142,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,715 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $7,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value 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. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $51.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.76 and a 200-day moving average of $54.51. 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 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 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.