Verition Fund Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Verition Fund Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 988,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,925 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial makes up 0.2% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.61% of Webster Financial worth $62,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,035,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 7,442.8% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,985 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,465,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 221.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,483,000 after buying an additional 1,077,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $56,253,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Santander downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $73.85 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.01. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.66 and a fifty-two week high of $74.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $735.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 26.19%.

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.