Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 53,950 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 236,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,950 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $11,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 340.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth $32,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7,650.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WBS. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $59.55 on Thursday. 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 $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.82. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $61.12.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,750 shares of company stock worth $1,599,727. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.