American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,966,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 165,660 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $163,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 76,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,238,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 145,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,028,000 after buying an additional 6,709 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 43,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,415,000 after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,491.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 485,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,838,000 after purchasing an additional 455,257 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $51.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.25. 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.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Barclays raised their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.