Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stake Cut by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC cut its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,600,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 125,611 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.93% of Webster Financial worth $88,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

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

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded up $1.36 on Wednesday, hitting $50.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 689,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,159,585. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. 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 fifty day moving average price of $56.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.09. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.19%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

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.