Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WBS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 117.9% in the third 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. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Lauren States sold 1,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $99,990.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,023 shares in the company, valued at $910,393.80. This represents a 9.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,676,369.20. The trade was a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.58.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $59.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687,532.71 billion. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

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.