Earnest Partners LLC Has $174.17 Million Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 116,508 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.84% of Webster Financial worth $174,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $3,549,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,253,000 after acquiring an additional 38,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 36.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,883,000 after purchasing an additional 79,556 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $86,112.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,373.28. This represents a 7.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,017 shares of company stock valued at $1,326,280 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of WBS stock traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.93. The company had a trading volume of 624,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,558. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.35. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. Webster Financial's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.04%.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Company 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.