John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 1,400 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WBS. Barclays boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $56.19 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $57.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.74. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.