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

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $65,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Webster Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 19.2% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 512,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,873,000 after purchasing an additional 82,430 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Webster Financial by 38.8% during the third quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WBS shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $55.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.33 and a twelve month high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.