Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WBS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,497,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,462,000 after buying an additional 727,530 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $27,163,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,464,000. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Webster Financial by 1,491.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 485,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,838,000 after acquiring an additional 455,257 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $44.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results 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 last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.92.

About Webster Financial

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.