Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 108,159 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 51.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 108,159 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.06% of Webster Financial worth $5,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $65,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. 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 research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.36.

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Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS stock traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,087,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,229. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $55.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.40.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.