Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Has $560,000 Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 53.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,792 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 5.4% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $60.07 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.50. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.33 and a 12-month high of $61.12. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,738.37. This trade represents a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,100 shares of company stock worth $1,202,237. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial 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.