Fourthstone LLC Buys 69,832 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Fourthstone LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 569.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 69,832 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial accounts for approximately 0.9% of Fourthstone LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Fourthstone LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,524,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after buying an additional 301,935 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,874,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,377,000 after buying an additional 191,894 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Webster Financial by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,833,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,934,000 after buying an additional 137,242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com cut Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $910,393.80. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.05. 624,922 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,402,312. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.27. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.28%.

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.