Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock Position Cut by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Webster Financial worth $15,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 109,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,572,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 313.8% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 10,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 8,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,237,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,678,000 after purchasing an additional 95,780 shares in the last quarter. 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 that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total value of $474,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 218,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,988,760.92. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total transaction of $297,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,591.50. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock worth $2,074,367 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS stock opened at $61.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.91. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $61.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

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.