Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 75,620 Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 75,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,495,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WBS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,866,000 after buying an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $114,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,299 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,658,000 after purchasing an additional 176,258 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 476,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,543,000 after buying an additional 20,090 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Santander downgraded Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup lowered Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $68.77 on Thursday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $74.00. The company has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 27.07%.

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.