Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 811,567 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 69.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 359,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 811,567 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Webster Financial worth $24,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of WBS opened at $75.38 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.06. The company has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Webster Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $52.69 and a twelve month high of $77.69.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.96.

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.