Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 244 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% during the fourth quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,462,000 after purchasing an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Webster Financial by 182.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 959,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,496,000 after buying an additional 619,934 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $27,163,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,229,000 after buying an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 770,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,922,000 after acquiring an additional 281,686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $52.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.43. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is currently 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.