First Foundation Advisors Sells 27,819 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

First Foundation Advisors cut its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 73.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,819 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in Webster Financial were worth $555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $3,549,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.92.

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Webster Financial Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded up $0.90 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.34. 1,208,646 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,262,102. The firm has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.34 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.42.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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.