Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Makes New $333,000 Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 6,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 22.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,862 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,785,000 after buying an additional 430,331 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,394,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,540,000 after buying an additional 184,905 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,217,000. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 9.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WBS opened at $44.33 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $46.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.35. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $34.85 and a 12-month high of $53.39. 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) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The company had revenue of $667.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $680.72 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, insider Daniel Bley sold 2,280 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.80, for a total value of $102,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,446.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WBS. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on Webster Financial from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Webster Financial from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.00.

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.