Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 386,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,432 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.23% of Webster Financial worth $21,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Webster Financial by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Webster Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 17.0% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.08.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total value of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. The trade was a 2.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,717 shares of company stock valued at $1,271,123 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

NYSE WBS traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.42. The stock had a trading volume of 881,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,414. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.55. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

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.