Bard Financial Services Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WBS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Webster Financial by 340.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 117.9% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WBS shares. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.69.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. The trade was a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:WBS traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $56.60. 433,257 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 645,413. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.58 and a 200 day moving average of $50.14.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 18.80%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.28%.

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.