Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Stake in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 8.1%, holding 51,945 shares valued at $2,836,000 after selling 4,575 shares.
• CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock for a total of $463,600, resulting in a 3.23% decrease in ownership.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $68.67 for Webster Financial, with ratings indicating an overall outlook of "Moderate Buy".

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,575 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Webster Financial by 327.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 118.4% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Webster Financial by 171.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,900,582.40. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $123,160.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,537 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WBS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.67.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:WBS opened at $58.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $59.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.40. The stock has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The business had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

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.

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