46,700 Shares in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 46,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,920,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $498,509,000 after buying an additional 107,335 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,184,000 after acquiring an additional 156,636 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,207,000 after acquiring an additional 713,294 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after acquiring an additional 16,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,163,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,016,000 after acquiring an additional 18,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS opened at $75.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.69 and a fifty-two week high of $76.13.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.95%.The company had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Webster Financial’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Santander downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.96.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.