Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,753 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.15% of Webster Financial worth $14,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $120,497,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,462,000 after buying an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $27,163,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,464,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,491.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 485,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,838,000 after purchasing an additional 455,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.92.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $43.95. 34,422 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,260,952. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.41. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was 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.

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.