Quantbot Technologies LP Reduces Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Quantbot Technologies LP lessened its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,022 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.05% of Webster Financial worth $4,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 340.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 7,650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $62.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.27. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during 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 last year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % 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, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total transaction of $474,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 218,924 shares in the company, valued at $12,988,760.92. This represents a 3.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock worth $2,074,367. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.