Retirement Systems of Alabama Grows Stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.27% of Webster Financial worth $25,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in Webster Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $341,229,000 after buying an additional 333,606 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Webster Financial by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,874,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,377,000 after acquiring an additional 191,894 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 5.6% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,777,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,845,000 after purchasing an additional 93,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Webster Financial by 2.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,468,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,467,000 after purchasing an additional 34,373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.08.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of WBS opened at $60.46 on Thursday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.29.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $687.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.91, for a total transaction of $30,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,069,742.89. This represents a 2.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.50, for a total value of $297,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,591.50. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,150 shares of company stock worth $903,085 in the last quarter. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.