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

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 10.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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 & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,206,575 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,524,000 after buying an additional 13,487 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after buying an additional 301,935 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 11.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,874,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,377,000 after buying an additional 191,894 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 8.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,833,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,934,000 after buying an additional 137,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $59.69 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.16 and a 200-day moving average of $48.40. The company has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WBS. Wedbush boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted 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. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total transaction of $99,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,393.80. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322 over the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.