Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 18.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,749 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Webster Financial by 28.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,524,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after purchasing an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 11.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,874,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,377,000 after purchasing an additional 191,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 8.1% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,833,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,934,000 after acquiring an additional 137,242 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS opened at $62.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.16. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This trade represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush upped their price target on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial 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.