Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Stock Holdings Trimmed by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 1.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,086,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,017 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $168,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,408,000 after purchasing an additional 487,264 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,291,000 after buying an additional 153,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,025,000 after acquiring an additional 42,406 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,457,000 after acquiring an additional 48,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 1,612,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,057,000 after purchasing an additional 23,605 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $50,146.98. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $780,229.84. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $123,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at $917,172.52. This represents a 11.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,807 shares of company stock worth $234,927 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Webster Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.85.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $55.33 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.84. The stock has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.32% and a return on equity of 11.07%. The business had revenue of $756.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

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.