Insider Selling: Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Director Sells 13,217 Shares of Stock

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’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 owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:WBS traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $57.68. 922,503 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,693. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.68 and a 200 day moving average of $53.12. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WBS shares. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

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.