Prudential PLC Has $5.32 Million Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 84,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,076 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $5,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WBS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,035,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 7,442.8% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,985 shares in the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,465,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 221.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,253,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Santander lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup cut shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.96.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $72.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.74 and its 200-day moving average is $67.99. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.00. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.66 and a twelve month high of $74.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.19%.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.