Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,721 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $5,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WBS shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.36.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $50.67 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.68.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is 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.