Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 8,254 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,254 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Webster Financial by 340.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter worth about $53,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WBS stock opened at $55.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.85 and a 200 day moving average of $50.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30. 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 data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.46.

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.