Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 78,892 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 26.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 78,892 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Webster Financial worth $12,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position in Webster Financial by 742.7% during the 4th 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 own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WBS shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.58.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8%

WBS stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.48. 1,026,080 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,817. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $48.39 and its 200-day moving average is $54.36.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.04%.

Webster Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total value of $59,964.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,317 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,015,240.49. The trade was a 5.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244 over the last three months. 0.54% 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.