Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Acquires 215 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 33,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 4,279 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $1,093,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 4,498 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $56.19 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.67. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. 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 (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

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.