ICA Group Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,862 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,785,000 after acquiring an additional 430,331 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,394,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,540,000 after acquiring an additional 184,905 shares during the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,520,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth $97,217,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total transaction of $102,144.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,693 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $40.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $36.22 and a 1-year high of $53.39. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $44.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.42.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $667.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 21.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

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.