Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,600,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125,611 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $88,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in Webster Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Webster Financial by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Penbrook Management LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Webster Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 34,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,929,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction 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. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following 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. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $47.66 on Tuesday. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.12 and a 200 day moving average of $54.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders 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 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Webster Financial 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.