Fisher Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 681,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,490 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $31,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1,859.1% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 14,891 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 264,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,439,000 after acquiring an additional 81,201 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,447,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 402.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 25,683 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,096,000 after purchasing an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush increased their target price on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total transaction of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $62.02 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.27. 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.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its 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 analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.