John R. Ciulla Sells 8,000 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Webster Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of WBS opened at $55.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $63.99.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group assumed 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Company 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.