Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Position Trimmed by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lessened its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,269 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after acquiring an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,465,000 after buying an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,777,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,845,000 after buying an additional 93,929 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,467,000 after buying an additional 34,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 960,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,763,000 after buying an additional 107,165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $55.76 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.39. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,271,123. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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 started 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.08.

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.