Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 31,002 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 37.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,002 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $6,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $131,780,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 30.5% during the second quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 1,886,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,997,000 after purchasing an additional 440,347 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,453,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,576,000 after purchasing an additional 438,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 959.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 358,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,297,000 after purchasing an additional 324,471 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total transaction of $443,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,872 shares in the company, valued at $12,857,302.40. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Webster Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.92.

Webster Financial Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $64.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $39.43 and a 52-week high of $67.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.60 and a 200-day moving average of $60.17.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.95 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 22.67%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend 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.