SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 63,271 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 66.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 63,271 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WBS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,679,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $799,122,000 after buying an additional 116,092 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 2.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,498,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $689,800,000 after buying an additional 362,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Webster Financial by 18.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,297,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $521,886,000 after buying an additional 1,433,204 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Webster Financial by 9.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,904,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $311,587,000 after buying an additional 707,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Webster Financial by 22.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $292,587,000 after buying an additional 1,339,862 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Webster Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.31.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE WBS traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,017,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,400. The firm's 50 day moving average is $48.54 and its 200 day moving average is $45.55. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.32.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $996.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Jack L. Kopnisky sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.18, for a total value of $250,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 310,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,557,857.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 3,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.56, for a total transaction of $204,486.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,553,663.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jack L. Kopnisky sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.18, for a total value of $250,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 310,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,557,857.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,941 shares of company stock worth $1,796,482 in the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.