Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after acquiring an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,482.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,801,000 after purchasing an additional 317,814 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 100.9% during the third quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 56,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,635,000 after buying an additional 28,393 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,761,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 76,570.5% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 72,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,395,000 after buying an additional 72,742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $59.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687,532.71 billion. 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 $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.58.

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.