Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Webster Financial by 79.1% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 1,119.4% in the 1st quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.73.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $49.62 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $44.03 and its 200 day moving average is $46.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.30. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $36.36 and a one year high of $53.39.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $671.91 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 11.81%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 8th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 29th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total transaction of $76,428.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total transaction of $76,428.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total transaction of $384,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,387,833.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.