Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $4,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,549,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 36.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,883,000 after purchasing an additional 79,556 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.58.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $52.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.04%.

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.