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

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 51.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 104,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 108,159 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Webster Financial were worth $5,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE WBS opened at $52.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.24 and a 200-day moving average of $54.36.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.