Inspire Investing LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Inspire Investing LLC decreased its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 627 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Webster Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,408,000 after acquiring an additional 487,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,291,000 after acquiring an additional 153,236 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,025,000 after purchasing an additional 42,406 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Webster Financial by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,457,000 after purchasing an additional 48,942 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position in Webster Financial by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,005,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,830,000 after purchasing an additional 9,626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.9%

WBS opened at $59.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.70. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $39.43 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.59 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total value of $125,056.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,263.28. This trade represents a 13.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,900,582.40. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.