American Century Companies Inc. Decreases Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,966,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 165,660 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.73% of Webster Financial worth $163,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $52.03. The company had a trading volume of 778,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,316. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.36.

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.