Groupama Asset Managment Decreases Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Groupama Asset Managment decreased its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,506 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $6,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,253,000 after buying an additional 38,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,549,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $50.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.68. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.