Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Shares Purchased by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,408,000 after purchasing an additional 487,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,291,000 after acquiring an additional 153,236 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,025,000 after acquiring an additional 42,406 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,457,000 after acquiring an additional 48,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,005,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,830,000 after acquiring an additional 9,626 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,830,168. The trade was a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,537 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock opened at $57.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.84. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $39.43 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The firm had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Cowen initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.73.

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.