Qsemble Capital Management LP Sells 18,598 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Qsemble Capital Management LP lowered its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 57.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,598 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in 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 period. Boston Partners raised its position in Webster Financial by 44.2% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 264,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,439,000 after purchasing an additional 81,201 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after purchasing an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $62.02 on Wednesday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.76 and a 200-day moving average of $47.16.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its earnings results 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). 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 analyst estimates of $677.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. The trade was a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,750 shares of company stock worth $2,074,367. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

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.