64,276 Shares in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 64,276 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,549,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,488,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 2.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,467,000 after acquiring an additional 34,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 8.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 89,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,158,000 after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.08.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS opened at $50.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.55 and a 200-day moving average of $54.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.34 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

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.