The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 6.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 143,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,676 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $6,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 1,859.1% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 14,891 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 402.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after buying an additional 25,683 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after buying an additional 301,935 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after buying an additional 17,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 objective on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. This represents a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $60.35 on Thursday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $63.99. 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 $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.80.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

Webster Financial Company 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.