Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 1,269 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,269 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WBS. M&G PLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 9.4% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,743,000 after purchasing an additional 17,746 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 6.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 2.4% during 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 last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,271,123. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $55.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.39. 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 $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WBS. UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.