Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $2.58 Million Stake in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its position in Webster Financial by 699.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 137,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,100,000 after buying an additional 120,516 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Webster Financial by 166.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 77,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,975,000 after buying an additional 6,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 3,066.1% in the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 126,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,496,000 after buying an additional 122,032 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 239,872 shares in the company, valued at $13,900,582.40. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total value of $125,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,263.28. This represents a 13.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Stock Down 6.0%

WBS stock opened at $55.64 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.77 and a 200-day moving average of $54.76.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.73.

Webster Financial 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.