Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 53.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,792 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Webster Financial by 340.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Webster Financial by 7,650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. The trade was a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,100 shares of company stock worth $1,202,237 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

WBS stock opened at $60.07 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $61.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

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.