Nitorum Capital L.P. Decreases Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Nitorum Capital L.P. trimmed its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 414,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,844 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial accounts for 2.6% of Nitorum Capital L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nitorum Capital L.P. owned 0.24% of Webster Financial worth $22,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 742.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $48.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 309,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,888. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,017 shares of company stock worth $1,326,280 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WBS. Barclays dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.73.

Webster Financial 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.