Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 2,332 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 37.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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 valued at $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,575 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 64.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,927,000 after purchasing an additional 631,080 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $22,146,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,482.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,801,000 after buying an additional 317,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 11.2% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,997,000 after buying an additional 308,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $59.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $38.71 and a 1-year high of $61.04.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,202,237 in the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.