Vanguard Group Inc. Has $994.81 Million Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,015,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 61,947 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.51% of Webster Financial worth $994,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 70,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,874,000 after purchasing an additional 15,627 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $951,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $1,916,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $109,114,000 after buying an additional 129,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 76,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,238,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WBS. Barclays upped their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.36.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.02. The stock had a trading volume of 102,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,191. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.68.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.