New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 526,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,140 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.31% of Webster Financial worth $26,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 19,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $785,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 13,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 13,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 76,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,073,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 31,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WBS shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.23.

Webster Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $45.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.33. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $31.03 and a 12-month high of $53.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $667.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $95,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,955 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,658. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,975 shares of company stock worth $1,341,095 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Company 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.