Strs Ohio Acquires New Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation, purchasing 37,137 shares valued at approximately $1.914 million during the 1st quarter of this year.
• Webster Financial recently reported $1.52 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.43, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.5%.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.40 on August 21st, representing a 2.7% yield and a payout ratio of 32.45%.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 37,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,914,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 327.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 171.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded down $0.82 on Friday, hitting $61.50. 3,389,612 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,437. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.87.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Webster Financial news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total transaction of $196,007.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $950,184.05. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,168,537. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.00.

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.