TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 48,049 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 68.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,049 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,684 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 43.7% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 38.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.2% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 20,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WBS. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.85.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE WBS opened at $57.57 on Thursday. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.57. The stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $732.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.22 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 21.32%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,172.52. This trade represents a 11.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.14, for a total transaction of $50,146.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 12,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,229.84. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,807 shares of company stock worth $234,927. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.