Millennium Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC has reduced its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 64.3%, owning approximately 909,146 shares worth around $46.87 million after selling over 1.6 million shares.
• Insider transactions indicate a decline in ownership, with the CAO selling 3,250 shares and another insider selling 2,500 shares, reflecting decreases of 17.10% and 11.69% in their respective positions.
• Webster Financial reported a quarterly EPS of $1.52, surpassing analysts' expectations, alongside a recent dividend announcement of $0.40 per share, which corresponds to an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 64.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 909,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,638,079 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.54% of Webster Financial worth $46,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Webster Financial by 7.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $366,408,000 after acquiring an additional 487,264 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,049,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $260,291,000 after purchasing an additional 153,236 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,597,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $237,025,000 after purchasing an additional 42,406 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,015,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $155,457,000 after purchasing an additional 48,942 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,005,441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,830,000 after buying an additional 9,626 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,363,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,292. Webster Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.43 and a 1 year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.54 and a 200 day moving average of $53.66. The company has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $716.59 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The business's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 32.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total transaction of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares in the company, valued at $950,184.05. This represents a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $153,025.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,889 shares in the company, valued at $1,156,195.69. This trade represents a 11.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,445 shares of company stock valued at $1,983,757 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Webster Financial 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.