Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Sells 1,783 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. cut its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 86,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,783 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $4,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penbrook Management LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 4,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.92.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $45.08 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $50.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

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 was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.