American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stock Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,594,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 859,713 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.56% of Webster Financial worth $154,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $578,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 959.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 358,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,297,000 after purchasing an additional 324,471 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,991,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,780,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $1,786,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $72.00 on Monday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $74.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $67.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.32.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Santander cut shares of Webster Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Webster Financial Company Profile

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.