Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $267,000 Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 46.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,726 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,932 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Webster Financial by 28.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 64.9% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,927,000 after purchasing an additional 631,080 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Webster Financial by 182.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,496,000 after purchasing an additional 619,934 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at $22,146,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,229,000 after buying an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Webster Financial stock opened at $58.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBS. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.08.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

About Webster Financial

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.