KBC Group NV Trims Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 88.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 185,982 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 1,859.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 14,891 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 44.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 264,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,439,000 after buying an additional 81,201 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,447,000 after buying an additional 20,300 shares in the last quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 106,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,384,000 after buying an additional 16,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $910,117,000 after buying an additional 54,841 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total transaction of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,302,227. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.97. 834,357 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,262,147. The business's 50 day moving average is $50.41 and its 200-day moving average is $46.73. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $61.12. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WBS. Barclays boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wedbush upped their target price on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.85.

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.