Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Reduces Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH reduced its stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 78,753 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.21% of Webster Financial worth $21,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WBS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $131,780,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 7,442.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,985 shares in the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,465,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 221.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 65.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,070,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,042,000 after buying an additional 817,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $68.09 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $74.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.41. The company has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.03.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $760.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.95 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 27.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays set a $75.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.