Daniel Bley Sells 500 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Daniel Bley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, October 21st, Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.30. The stock had a trading volume of 706,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,195. The company has a market capitalization of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.20 and its 200 day moving average is $47.71.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,575 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,524,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 54,613 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,096,000 after purchasing an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.62.

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.