Jason A. Soto Sells 2,500 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) Stock

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total transaction of $153,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 18,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,195.69. This trade represents a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:WBS traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,392,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,745. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average is $55.11 and its 200-day moving average is $53.40.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Webster Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.77.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,007,000 after buying an additional 99,908 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 7.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,408,000 after buying an additional 487,264 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $260,291,000 after buying an additional 153,236 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the first 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 period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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.