Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 40,082 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation by 2.1%, selling 40,082 shares, while still maintaining a position of 1,890,830 shares valued at approximately $97.47 million.
• Insider transactions reflect a notable selling trend, with CEO John R. Ciulla selling 8,000 shares recently, and total insider sales reaching 33,445 shares worth about $1.98 million over the past three months.
• Webster Financial's recent earnings report beat analysts' expectations, posting $1.52 EPS for the quarter, alongside a 16.5% revenue increase compared to last year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,890,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,082 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.12% of Webster Financial worth $97,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 487,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 153,236 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $237,025,000 after acquiring an additional 42,406 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Webster Financial by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,457,000 after acquiring an additional 48,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,641,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $145,878,000 after buying an additional 99,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 239,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,900,582.40. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total value of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,184.05. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,445 shares of company stock worth $1,983,757 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WBS. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.77.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $62.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business's 50-day moving average is $59.12 and its 200-day moving average is $53.49. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The firm's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

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.

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