Trade Alert: Independent Director Of Webster Financial Laurence Morse Has Sold Stock

We wouldn't blame Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Laurence Morse, the Independent Director recently netted about US$781k selling shares at an average price of US$59.07. That's a big disposal, and it decreased their holding size by 36%, which is notable but not too bad.

Check out our latest analysis for Webster Financial

Webster Financial Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Laurence Morse is the biggest insider sale of Webster Financial shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was selling shares at around the current price of US$55.80. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Insiders in Webster Financial didn't buy any shares in the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Does Webster Financial Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Webster Financial insiders own about US$86m worth of shares. That equates to 0.9% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Do The Webster Financial Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders haven't bought Webster Financial stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. Insider ownership isn't particularly high, so this analysis makes us cautious about the company. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Webster Financial. While conducting our analysis, we found that Webster Financial has 1 warning sign and it would be unwise to ignore this.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.