Prudential PLC Makes New $891,000 Investment in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $891,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the first quarter worth $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 327.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 3,628.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total value of $50,146.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,556 shares in the company, valued at $780,229.84. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,807 shares of company stock valued at $678,527. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Webster Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.85.

Webster Financial Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of WBS stock opened at $57.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $57.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $39.43 and a 12-month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 21.32%.The business had revenue of $756.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.80%.

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.