Charles L. Wilkins Sells 5,000 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Stock

Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $266,250.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 31,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,679,185.50. The trade was a 13.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Webster Financial stock traded up $0.18 on Monday, hitting $53.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,218,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,318. Webster Financial Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.00. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $48.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.73.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 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 $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,408,000 after buying an additional 487,264 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,291,000 after buying an additional 153,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,025,000 after buying an additional 42,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000,000 after buying an additional 35,039 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.