Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 37,399 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,399 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $7,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 6.8% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 31,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,032 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,253,000 after acquiring an additional 38,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth $3,549,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Up 11.7 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $46.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.44. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is 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.