Citigroup Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Citigroup Inc. lessened its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS – Get Rating) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,662 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 15.9% in the fourth 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 stake in Webster Financial by 0.6% in the third 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 stake in Webster Financial by 5.6% in the fourth 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. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 28,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 19.8% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.86% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $37.40 on Tuesday. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $31.03 and a 12-month high of $56.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.68.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.09.

Webster Financial Company 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.