Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 190,005 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 16.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 985,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 190,005 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.59% of Webster Financial worth $50,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Webster Financial by 171.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in Webster Financial by 166.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 78.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WBS. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price (up from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.77.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.7%

WBS stock opened at $61.88 on Thursday. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.29. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

Webster Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total value of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,755 shares in the company, valued at $950,184.05. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total transaction of $410,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,135.60. This trade represents a 28.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,815 shares of company stock worth $1,408,299 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.