John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 650 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,575 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,927,000 after purchasing an additional 631,080 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at about $22,146,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Webster Financial by 1,482.9% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,801,000 after buying an additional 317,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 11.2% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,997,000 after buying an additional 308,455 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This represents a 12.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total value of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. The trade was a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,599,727. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $59.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.27. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.82. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $61.12.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. 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.