Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 30.8%, now owning 152,981 shares valued at approximately $7.89 million.
• Webster Financial has received recent positive ratings from several analysts, with Citigroup raising its price target from $65.00 to $71.00, indicating a strong "buy" sentiment.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share and a share repurchase plan of $700 million, signaling confidence in its stock value.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 30.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 152,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,964 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Webster Financial worth $7,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,253.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,120,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,897,000 after buying an additional 1,038,085 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,547,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $140,658,000 after acquiring an additional 766,019 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,177,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,408,000 after acquiring an additional 487,264 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,603,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total transaction of $463,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 239,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total transaction of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $950,184.05. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,638 shares of company stock worth $2,199,861 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS opened at $62.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.34. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $39.43 and a 12-month high of $63.99.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Webster Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is 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.

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