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

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $18,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Webster Financial by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,017,460.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total transaction of $209,720.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $748,333.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,963 shares of company stock worth $620,272 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS opened at $50.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.68. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $38.54 and a 52-week high of $54.38.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.28%.

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.