Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 6.5% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WBS. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Webster Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.36.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $48.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.65. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $36.36 and a twelve month high of $53.39.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 19.81%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total transaction of $245,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,215,853.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total transaction of $384,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total transaction of $245,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,215,853.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,650 shares of company stock worth $706,098 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently 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.