Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 2,104 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,104 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Webster Financial worth $4,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,613 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.6% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 93,929 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.6% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 960,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,763,000 after purchasing an additional 107,165 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $51.57 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $56.28 and its 200-day moving average is $54.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during 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 previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WBS. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

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.