Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 976,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,937 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.57% of Webster Financial worth $53,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position 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 valued at $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,777,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,845,000 after acquiring an additional 93,929 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,467,000 after acquiring an additional 34,373 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 960,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,763,000 after acquiring an additional 107,165 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. Three equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.08.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

WBS stock opened at $57.68 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.15. 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 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. 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.