D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 80.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 301,947 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $3,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $365,601,000 after buying an additional 45,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,000,000 after buying an additional 35,039 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,173,000 after buying an additional 116,508 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,828,000 after buying an additional 114,375 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total transaction of $59,964.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,317 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,240.49. This trade represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $605,516 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.75.

Webster Financial Stock Down 3.7%

NYSE:WBS traded down $1.96 on Wednesday, hitting $50.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,306,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,262,251. Webster Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $39.34 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $48.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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. The stock has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.