Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Webster Financial were worth $9,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,859.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 14,891 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 44.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 264,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,439,000 after purchasing an additional 81,201 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 13.5% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,447,000 after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 402.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 25,683 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,074,367. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $60.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $51.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.91. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $61.12. The stock has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

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.