Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 19,426 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lowered its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 26.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,426 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 64.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,927,000 after buying an additional 631,080 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $22,146,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Webster Financial by 1,482.9% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,801,000 after buying an additional 317,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 11.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $155,997,000 after buying an additional 308,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock opened at $52.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $37.18 and a 12-month high of $54.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.56.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total transaction of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,963 shares of company stock valued at $620,272. Corporate insiders own 0.88% 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.