Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Webster Financial by 8.5% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock opened at $55.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.46.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $910,393.80. The trade was a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. This trade represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.