Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 24,507 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 181.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,507 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $292,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,862 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,394,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,540,000 after acquiring an additional 184,905 shares during the period. Davis Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,750,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,542,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,363,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,198,000 after acquiring an additional 157,973 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,327,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $67,382,000 after acquiring an additional 48,494 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total transaction of $102,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,693 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,446.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WBS traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $46.66. 880,062 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,382,910. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $34.85 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 12.55% and a net margin of 21.09%. The business had revenue of $667.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $680.72 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WBS. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.23.

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.