Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,583,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Webster Financial by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $628,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,256,000. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $530,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 457,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,261,000 after purchasing an additional 39,891 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WBS shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total transaction of $86,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,373.28. The trade was a 7.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.8%

WBS traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.48. 1,026,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,817. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Webster Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.