State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Decreases Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 36.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,002 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,926,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $910,117,000 after buying an additional 54,841 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,237,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,678,000 after acquiring an additional 95,780 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,072,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $155,997,000 after purchasing an additional 308,455 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $97,217,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,696,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,133,000 after purchasing an additional 218,877 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WBS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered Webster Financial from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.36.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $48.04 on Friday. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $36.36 and a 1 year high of $53.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $46.10 and its 200 day moving average is $45.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $671.91 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 19.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.79%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total transaction of $245,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,215,853.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total transaction of $245,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,215,853.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total transaction of $76,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,650 shares of company stock worth $706,098 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.