Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 9,000 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBS. 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 worth $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,575 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,927,000 after buying an additional 631,080 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 182.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,496,000 after buying an additional 619,934 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $22,146,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,096,000 after buying an additional 301,935 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS opened at $59.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.40. The stock has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 in the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.