Vanguard Group Inc. Has $994.81 Million Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,015,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61,947 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Webster Financial worth $994,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.36.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $51.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.76 and its 200 day moving average is $54.44. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.34 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.