Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Insider Sells $297,500.00 in Stock

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total transaction of $297,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,591.50. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $61.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $61.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.91.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,859.1% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 14,891 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 44.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 264,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,439,000 after acquiring an additional 81,201 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 13.5% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,447,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 18.3% in the first quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. now owns 106,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,384,000 after acquiring an additional 16,394 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $910,117,000 after acquiring an additional 54,841 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have issued 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 an average price target of $57.85.

About Webster Financial

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.