Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $10.44 Million Stock Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,006 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Webster Financial worth $10,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $114,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,069,000 after buying an additional 5,299 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 37.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,658,000 after buying an additional 176,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 476,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,543,000 after buying an additional 20,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WBS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Santander cut Webster Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial cut Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.36.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:WBS opened at $72.00 on Monday. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $74.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.32.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 22.67%.The business had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.07%.

Webster Financial Profile

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.