Groupama Asset Managment Trims Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,506 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment owned about 0.07% of Webster Financial worth $6,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,549,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $50.67 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.68. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.36.

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.