Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 565,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 393,716 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.33% of Webster Financial worth $31,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 742.7% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Down 10.0 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $41.98 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.41. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, 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. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Raymond James dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.92.

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.