Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,101 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,467,000 after purchasing an additional 34,373 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 89,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,158,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.08.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $52.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.18.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.