Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Trims Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,794,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 80,313 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $98,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Penbrook Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Webster Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Webster Financial by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.33, for a total value of $474,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 218,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,988,760.92. This trade represents a 3.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $903,085 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $58.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.72. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.