Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 687,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 167,540 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Webster Financial worth $40,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 94,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,866,000 after buying an additional 2,049 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $114,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 40,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,299 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 652,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,658,000 after purchasing an additional 176,258 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 476,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,543,000 after purchasing an additional 20,090 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Barclays set a $75.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut shares of Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total transaction of $443,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,872 shares in the company, valued at $12,857,302.40. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Webster Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Webster Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Santander agreed to acquire Webster in a transaction that market reports say will increase Santander’s U.S. scale and profitability — this takeover announcement is the primary bullish catalyst for WBS today. Santander to Buy Webster Bank
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target from $77 to $75 and moved to an “equal weight” stance — a modest target cut that still implies small upside vs. current levels, so it’s a minor, mixed signal. Benzinga

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $73.28 on Friday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $39.43 and a 1-year high of $73.50. The company has a market capitalization of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.69 and a 200-day moving average of $60.75.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.07. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 22.67%.The firm had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 27.07%.

Webster Financial Company Profile

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.