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

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,416. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 1.04 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.15. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Webster Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 39,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 2,815 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $22,146,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 80,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,753,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.