Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 9,926 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS – Get Rating) by 51.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 9,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,926 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 77,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 28,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James cut their target price on Webster Financial from $56.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.09.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock opened at $35.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $31.03 and a 52-week high of $56.46. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.78.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $666.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.96 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 28.33% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Webster Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.45%.

Webster Financial Profile

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Webster Financial Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses. It operates through the following business segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Retail Banking. The Commercial Banking segment includes commercial banking and private banking.