Daniel Bley Sells 3,463 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $51.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $36.36 and a 1-year high of $54.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.67 and a 200 day moving average of $45.40. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 24.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 18.0% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 45,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 7,001 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 16.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,584,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,429,000 after purchasing an additional 220,942 shares during the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 9.6% during the first quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 42,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.