Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $239,000 in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,278,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,556,000 after acquiring an additional 21,026 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 149,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,576,000 after acquiring an additional 73,924 shares in the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 58.2% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 319,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,874,000 after acquiring an additional 117,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 15.7% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 83,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,375,000 after acquiring an additional 11,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 89,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total transaction of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,582 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Barclays began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,208,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,760. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The company had revenue of $996.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $674.82 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.72%.

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.