Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Invests $37.14 Million in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 486,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,140,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,182,130,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $142,035,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in Webster Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $154,797,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 7,442.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,838,000 after buying an additional 2,005,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitebox Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $133,634,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.25.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $77.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.01. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.69 and a 12-month high of $79.74.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 22.78%.The firm had revenue of $769.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $755.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 26.02%.

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.