Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,414 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 460,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,414 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.27% of Webster Financial worth $21,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 170,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,447,000 after purchasing an additional 20,300 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,096,000 after buying an additional 301,935 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 9.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 207,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,743,000 after buying an additional 17,746 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Webster Financial by 1,482.9% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 339,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,801,000 after acquiring an additional 317,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $4,582,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. This represents a 30.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stephens set a $58.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.08.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS opened at $58.96 on Friday. 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 $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.61. Webster Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $677.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. 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.