Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) CAO Sells $61,620.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Webster Financial's Chief Accounting Officer, Elzbieta Cieslik, sold 1,000 shares at $61.62, totaling $61,620, resulting in a 5.59% decrease in her stock ownership.
• The company recently reported a 1.52 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.5%.
• Webster Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40, resulting in a 2.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 32.45%.

Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.62, for a total transaction of $61,620.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 16,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,008.28. This trade represents a 5.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Elzbieta Cieslik also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 15th, Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of Webster Financial stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $60.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,640,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,289. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $39.43 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $59.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.63.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 7.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 487,264 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,296,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $289,165,000 after purchasing an additional 246,774 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 42,406 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 14.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,453,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $188,576,000 after acquiring an additional 438,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $131,780,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 report on Friday, July 18th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.00.

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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