Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 118,731 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,034,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 118,731 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.60% of Webster Financial worth $48,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 64.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,927,000 after buying an additional 631,080 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,496,000 after buying an additional 619,934 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $22,146,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,676,369.20. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at $910,393.80. This trade represents a 9.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $55.39. 587,098 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,243,289. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.11. The stock has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

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.