D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Decreases Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 80.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 5,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 49,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Webster Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WBS shares. Raymond James lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.75.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, Director Lauren States sold 2,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.80, for a total transaction of $111,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $742,696. The trade was a 13.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total value of $59,964.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,015,240.49. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,200 shares of company stock valued at $257,836. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WBS traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,128,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,952. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $48.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.33. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

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

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.