Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $106.63 Million Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,930,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 185,624 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $106,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $51.52 on Thursday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $55.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. 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 (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.92.

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.