Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 182,720 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,892,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 182,720 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.10% of Webster Financial worth $104,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $53,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 45.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $53.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,607,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,836. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.92.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays raised their target price on 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 Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.08.

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.