Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Buys 2,003 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned about 0.09% of Webster Financial worth $7,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $92,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,820,000 after buying an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 156.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 96,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,877,000 after buying an additional 58,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 2,487 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS stock traded up $2.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $46.56. 1,579,500 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,187,845. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $36.36 and a 12-month high of $53.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.70.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $667.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.79%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total value of $102,144.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Webster Financial

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.