Bank of New York Mellon Corp Trims Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,892,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 182,720 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $104,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $56.19 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.74.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WBS. Barclays increased their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group began 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial 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.