Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 244 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. decreased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% in the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 182.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,496,000 after purchasing an additional 619,934 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,163,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,922,000 after buying an additional 281,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Three 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $52.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.17 and its 200 day moving average is $54.43. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

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.