Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stock Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 246,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,308 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $15,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,812,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,402,000 after buying an additional 189,399 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,359,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,567,000 after buying an additional 63,403 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,160,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,340,000 after buying an additional 89,723 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,163,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,016,000 after buying an additional 18,860 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Webster Financial by 65.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,070,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,042,000 after purchasing an additional 817,218 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $72.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.63. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.02. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.24 and a 12 month high of $74.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.96.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.