Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 88.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 74,375 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in Webster Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 19,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Webster Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 76,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WBS. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total transaction of $102,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,693 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $45.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.02 and a 200 day moving average of $47.43. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.35. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $34.85 and a 12-month high of $53.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 21.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Webster Financial Company 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.