Centiva Capital LP Reduces Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Centiva Capital LP reduced its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 67.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,122 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Webster Financial were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Webster Financial by 17.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Salzhauer Michael lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 39,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This trade represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded up $0.77 on Wednesday, reaching $59.69. 1,383,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,796. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $55.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

Webster Financial Company 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.