Groupama Asset Managment Sells 18,506 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Groupama Asset Managment lowered its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,506 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment owned approximately 0.07% of Webster Financial worth $6,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $105,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

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Webster Financial Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE WBS traded down $2.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.75. 1,891,967 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,549. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.58.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on WBS shares. Barclays increased their target price on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.92.

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.