The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $6.69 Million Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,676 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 64.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,927,000 after purchasing an additional 631,080 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 182.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,496,000 after purchasing an additional 619,934 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter worth $22,146,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.90. The stock had a trading volume of 644,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,096. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.89. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Webster Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.08.

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.