Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock Position Lowered by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 88.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,401,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $976,594,000 after buying an additional 8,161,424 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 219.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,782,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,381,000 after buying an additional 3,285,002 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Webster Financial by 68.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,511,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,534,000 after buying an additional 3,061,831 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 2,063.7% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,888,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,306,000 after buying an additional 1,801,600 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,632,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WBS. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $204,486.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,663.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Webster Financial news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total value of $204,486.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,528 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,553,663.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,941 shares of company stock valued at $1,545,582 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $46.23 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $996.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.72%.

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.