Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $910,117,000 after purchasing an additional 54,841 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,237,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $316,678,000 after buying an additional 95,780 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,687,000 after buying an additional 1,206,575 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $134,524,000 after buying an additional 13,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total transaction of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,100 shares of company stock worth $1,202,237. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $60.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,687,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,401,599. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $61.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $49.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.51. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

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.