Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP cut its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 67.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,122 shares during the quarter. Centiva Capital LP’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 340.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% during the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,676,369.20. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 over the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $58.94 on Wednesday. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released 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). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. 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.