New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 393,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,896 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.23% of Webster Financial worth $18,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 38.8% in the third quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 512,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,873,000 after acquiring an additional 82,430 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Webster Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 20,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,963 shares of company stock valued at $620,272. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Trading Up 18.2 %

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded up $9.27 on Wednesday, hitting $60.12. 4,515,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,254,118. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $38.54 and a 52 week high of $60.13. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $677.72 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

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.