Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 49.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,855 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Webster Financial were worth $273,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 759.8% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $27,163,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,491.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 485,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,838,000 after purchasing an additional 455,257 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 57.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,922,000 after purchasing an additional 281,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.92.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

WBS traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $42.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,169,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,058. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week 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 moving average price of $54.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.63.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.