Amalgamated Bank Decreases Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Amalgamated Bank cut its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,908 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank owned about 0.06% of Webster Financial worth $4,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $910,117,000 after buying an additional 54,841 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,237,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,678,000 after acquiring an additional 95,780 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 11.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,997,000 after acquiring an additional 308,455 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,096,000 after purchasing an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total transaction of $76,428.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total value of $76,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total transaction of $384,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at $11,387,833.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Webster Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $48.03 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.65. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.36 and a fifty-two week high of $53.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $671.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 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, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

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.