Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Acquires 1,038,085 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 1,253.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,120,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,038,085 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.65% of Webster Financial worth $61,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $828,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,641,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $145,878,000 after acquiring an additional 99,586 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 300,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,591,000 after purchasing an additional 126,262 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $1,193,000. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 66,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 4,295 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % 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 this link. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

WBS stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.86. 540,934 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,726. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company has a market capitalization of $8.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WBS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.73.

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.