New York State Teachers Retirement System Has $13.03 Million Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 256,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 737 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $13,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 78,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,972,000 after buying an additional 5,197 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $4,438,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,458,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $611,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Webster Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

WBS opened at $48.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.94, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.33. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $31.03 and a 1-year high of $53.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.04.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.48 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $996.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $674.82 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 13.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 32.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,317,234.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,941 shares of company stock worth $1,545,582. 0.72% of the stock is currently 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.