Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 46,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,242,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Curi Capital LLC raised its position in Webster Financial by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 68,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,740,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Webster Financial by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WBS stock opened at $75.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.63. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Webster Financial Profile

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.