Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,329 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $16,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WBS. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $41.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.56.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Raymond James decreased their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.92.

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.